Jo pulled up to Castiel's house and got out of her car, helping Emma with her things and walking her to the door. She knocked and waited till Castiel opened the door.

"Hey, so here's Emma's things. I'm sorry for leaving her and running but I really need to get back." Jo said, handing Castiel Emma's bag and things, "She has her iPod and headphones in her bag too, along with her vitamin C. She's supposed to take two a day because her dad is really paranoid about her getting sick and stuff. Anyways, I really need to go. Here's my number in case you need anything and we'll be back to pick her up by Saturday, is that alright?"

Castiel nodded, "Of course. I'll call if I have any questions or anything of the sort."

Jo smiled before kneeling down in front of Emma, "You be good for Castiel alright? Go to bed on time, don't raise your voice, and be the little angel your daddy always calls you, okay?"

Emma nodded, a wide smile on her face, "Okay Auntie Jo!"

Jo smiled wider and gave Emma a big hug, "Also, remember, if you need anything, just ask Castiel to call me and I'll be right here."

Emma nodded and waved goodbye as Jo left before turning and looking up at Castiel, "Do you think I could have some ice cream?"

Castiel chuckled, "Sure, but let's call Claire down and put your things into the guest room first, shall we?"

Emma nodded and bounced into the house with a wide smile while Castiel called for Claire.

Claire came running down the stairs and smiled when she saw Emma, "Emma! Come on! Let's go to my room, I want to show you some stuff!"

"Actually, Claire, I was going to show Emma where she'll be staying while here and we figured we'd go out and get some ice cream." Castiel said.

"Really? Awesome!" Claire said, "Come on! I'll show you the guest room then we can go get ice cream at Sylas & Maddy's!"

Claire drug Emma into the guest room and helped her put her things up in the drawers and such before they came back out to find Castiel. "Hey Dad! We're ready!"

Castiel walked back in from the kitchen with his keys in hand and trench coat on, "Alright then, let's go out to the car, it's too late to walk there. You two, get in the back."

Claire rolled her eyes but Emma went and hopped into the car and giggled, "Your car has funny seats."

Castiel frowned, "What do you mean, Emma?"

"They're fuzzy, Daddy's seats are really slippery!" Emma said, "Does your car have a name too? Daddy calls his Baby and Uncle Sam and Auntie Jo always make fun of him."

"Um... no, my vehicle doesn't have a name." Castiel said, "Would you like to name it?"

Emma frowned for a few minutes and Cas pulled out of the parking space in front of the house, headed for the ice cream shop.

"Cassandra!" Emma shouted, smiling widely.

Claire frowned, "Why Cassandra?"

"Cause then we can call it Sandy!" Emma said, looking proud of the name.

Castiel chuckled, "Cassandra it is then."

He pulled up to the ice cream shop and parked, letting the girls out and following them into the shop. "Pick which flavor you guys want."

Claire walked up to the counter, "Could I get a scoop of the chocolate fudge brownie?"

"I want the Coconut Crème Pie!" Emma said, smiling at the woman behind the counter.

"I'll take a scoop of the Mint Chip, please." Castiel said, stepping up to the counter and taking his wallet out and paying the cashier as she rang them up.

The woman smiled and handed him his change as the man scooped out the ice cream for them. He handed the cones over the counter with a smile, "Hope to see y'all again here soon!"

Claire smiled, "Hope to be here again soon!"

Castiel chuckled, "We'll see about that." He lead them over to a table in the corner and sat down.

XXXX

It was around thirty minutes after they sat down until they left. They headed straight to the house and into the living room where Claire dug through her movie collection. It wasn't long until Brave was playing on the television.

"I think I'm happy with one little brother..." Emma said, frowning at the triplets that were wrecking havoc on the television. "At least Ben's six..."

"It's the older brothers you need to look out for." Castiel said, causing Emma to look up at him with a frown, "I have three older brothers and a younger sister. My brothers, Michael and Luke, would terrorize Hannah and I but my mother, Anna, would just turn her back and ignore them and my father wasn't around much. When my mother passed, our older brother, Gabriel, took care of Hannah and I for the couple of years before we could leave to college. So, in all honesty, it just depends on the person the sibling is, though the older ones definitely get away with more."

"I don't remember my mom all that much..." Emma muttered, looking down at her lap, "Daddy told me that my mom wasn't a good person and left me with him years ago. I don't miss her, Daddy has been great, really... but, I miss the idea of a mom I guess. That's what my teacher told me when I told her. Cause it's not something that I've experienced myself but Daddy's doing the best to fill both roles."

Claire sighed, "I think not remembering your mom's better than remembering her, even a little... Then you have those few memories and you always have that what if moment and you bring up images of her and it just makes you sadder. I loved my mom but no matter how much I loved the time I spent with her, sometimes I wish I hadn't've had that time."

"It doesn't do to dwell on the past or the future because there's no time like the present." Castiel said, sighing, "Anyways, the movie's over you Debbie downer's. Go get washed up and ready for bed."

"Aw! But Dad!" Claire whined.

"No whining, Claire. It's nearly ten. I let you both stay up an extra hour to watch your movie but it's time for bed." Castiel said, standing up.

Emma nodded and headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth, Claire following slowly behind.

Castiel sighed and ran a hand down his face. He hadn't been expecting the subject to turn so grim or he wouldn't have said anything.

Emma walked out of the bathroom in a nightgown and Claire followed behind in some flannel pajamas. "Okay, why don't you two go get in bed and I'll be right there to tuck you in."

"Dad, I'm too old for that." Claire said, rolling her eyes.

Emma smiled widely and ran to the guest room, causing Claire and Castiel to laugh.

"Okay, okay, I'll go to bed. Night Dad."

"Goodnight, Claire."

Castiel walked into the guest room to see Emma leaning over the bed plugging her iPod charger into the port. She looked over at him and waved. "What are you doing, Emma?"

"If Daddy's not here I listen to music to go to sleep. It helps keep nightmares away, Daddy said so!" Emma said, messing with her iPod for a moment before the soft strums of an acoustic guitar flowed through the room.

"Oh the summertime is coming, and the trees are sweetly blooming. Where the wild mountain thyme, grows around the blooming heather, would you go, lassie, go?"

The music flowed through the room, softly at first but getting a bit stronger as the singers confidence increased. Castiel stopped in the doorway for a moment and just listened to the singer before walking into the room and tucking Emma in. "Who was singing that, Emma?"

Emma giggled, "I can't tell you!"

Castiel huffed and rolled his eyes, smiling, "Okay, I'll let you keep your secrets for now. Goodnight, Emma."

"Night-night, Cassie." Emma said, hugging her stuffed lion close and closing her eyes.

Castiel paused in the doorway, looking back at the already sleeping child, before shaking his head and walking out; it was just a coincidence, wasn't it?

XXXXX

Dean slowly came to awareness, keeping his eyes closed and his breathing as steady as possible, which seemed more difficult than it should have been. He noticed soft whispers to the side of him and a warm body laying beside him. There was a sharp, regular beep echoing around him that threw him off so he slowly blinked his eyes open.

"He's waking up!"

Dean groaned as his eyes finally opened to the bright white tiles and fluorescent lights of Lawrence Hospital. "Why am I in the hospital?" He grunted out, trying to sit up, only to fall back down at the shooting pain in his side.

"Don't get up, Dee. You have a chest tube in your side and you could rip it out if you move around too much." Sam said, pushing Dean back onto the bed, "You really scared us all. Benny walked out of the shop to see you passed out, bleeding, and a dead body near you."

Dean ran a hand down his face, finally noticing the mask for the respirator and groaning again, "Look, I can explain."

"Bobby already told us and the cops who the guy was." Sam said.

Dean sighed and looked over at Sam, who was still at his side on the bed, "Look, Sammy, I know I said I was off hunting and everything but Gordon came out of nowhere."

"You'll have to explain to the cops, Dee." Sam said, sighing, "They're outside the room, been there all night. Henriksen didn't want to leave you alone in case someone came back to finish the job or if your story didn't match up to what they're guessing happened."

Dean nodded, "Just bring them in, gotta get this done sooner or later."

Sam nodded and got up, going to the door and bringing one of the officers in, "Dean, this is officer Hael, she'll be taking your statement."

Dean nodded and motioned for her to take a seat in the spare chair while Sam took a seat beside Jess.

"State your name, date of birth, age, and profession for the record please." She said, taking out a tape recorder, turning it on, and placing it down while taking out a notebook to write down what he was saying as well.

"Dean Winchester, January 24th 1979, 26, currently owner and mechanic at Winchester Auto Body, previously a Bounty Hunter." Dean replied.

"Alright, Mr. Winchester, please state everything that happened yesterday during the shooting." Officer Hael said, leaning forward.

Dean sighed, "I walked out of my shop, got to leave early because I was done with the motor I was working on so Benny and Ash kicked me out, they knew I'd be there all night if they didn't just so I could get the car out of there. I was walkin toward my Baby when I felt a difference-"

"You felt a difference?"

"When you've been risking your life since you started shootin at age six, ya tend to get a sort of sixth sense if someone wants to kill you or do you harm." Dean explained, "Anyways, I felt a difference and was turning around when the first shot hit me. Gordon was standing there with a Desert Eagle pointed at me."

"How do you know it was a Desert Eagle?"

"I've been at the wrong end of Gordon's gun enough to know what it looks like." He shifted down on the bed a bit, "He started goin on about killing me and my family, wantin the whole set since he killed dad. He was listenin in, he knew about Sam and Jess gettin engaged and was plannin on killin her and so I grabbed my knife, I keep it strapped to my lower back cause I've had too many people trying to kill many people tryin to kill me over the years. He shot twice, hit me both times, I dropped down to my knee. I'm not sure what exactly happened after that, lost too much blood, but I'm sure I killed him. No one threaten's my family and get's away alive." He finished with a glare.

Officer Hael nodded, "I think I have everything that I need. Mr. Singer already provided Sheriff Henriksen with your badge and the bingo book page with the bounty for Gordon Walker. It should take a few days to sort this all out then we will send out the bounty and get it back to you at some point in the next two weeks. Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Winchester."

Dean nodded to her as she walked out. He looked over at Jess, "Think you could leave so I can talk to Sammy alone for a few minutes."

Jess smiled, "I'll go down to the cafeteria and get some food. They should be bringing your food soon since you're finally awake." She kissed Sam and kissed Dean on the forehead as she walked out, closing the door behind her.

Sam looked over at Dean, "What'd you send Jess out for?"

Dean frowned and leaned forward, "I need you to check my back."

Sam's eyes widened and he rushed forward, moving to the injured shoulder and pulling the gown away to see the huge black outline of wings on the back of Dean's back damaged. "You'll have to pull them out for me to see the full damage Dee."

Dean gave a tight nod, gritting his teeth and forcing the tattoo's to disconnect from his back and solidify into huge sandy wings. They were about ten feet each, a dark tan color that matched Dean's hair. They had slightly orangish tan dots all over but along the bottom edges of the flight feathers and up towards the middle of his back where they connected to his shoulder blades, they were green. The green changed colors under different lighting but a section of the feathers along the top were dark and matted. There was blood caking them and it looked like the main bone, the one that holds the first and second joints, was broken. There was a pretty deep cut on it too.

"I'm gonna have to wash off the blood and patch it up... I could set the bone and clean the cut but if I do that then you're going to need to leave your wings out. Would you be able to deal with that? I could talk with the nurse before she came back in here and make sure that the patient confidentiality is taken seriously."

Dean nodded, "Just do it, I don't want to deal with it healin wrong. Just get it done."

Sam nodded and grabbed some towels and a bottle of water Bobby had brought him last night. "This is gonna hurt Dee."

Dean nodded and braced himself as Sam started to clean his feathers. After a few minutes he shifted to the wound and Dean grunted.

"Sorry, I'm trying to be careful but some of this stuff is stuck in here pretty good..." Sam said, cleaning out the last bit. "Okay, I'm going to reset the bone. I grabbed some gauze from the cabinet to wrap it with but you gotta keep your wing still. At the count of three." He shoved the bone back into place and Dean bit back a shout, not wanting to alert the nurses. "Sorry, sorry." Sam said, quickly wrapping the wound before stepping to the side to help Dean lay back on his wings. If he didn't lay just right he could end up hurting himself again.

"Alright, it should be good in a day or two since it's set now." Sam said, "Get some sleep, I'm gonna go talk to the nurse and explain what's going on."

Dean nodded, leaning back into the pillow before shooting up, "Sammy!"

Sam whipped around, "What? Are you alright?!"

"Where's Emma?" Dean asked, starting to get up, wincing as the chest tube in his side shifted.

"She's fine. She's staying with a friend until you get out of the hospital."

"Who's she with? Are you sure she's alright?" Dean asked, laying back.

"I'm positive Dean. You know I wouldn't let her stay with someone I didn't think could take care of her. Besides, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Ash, and Jess all agreed with who's taking care of her." Sam said, "Now go to sleep before I have them knock you out. Setting that bone probably took a lot more out of you than you think. I'll wake you up here in a few hours so you can eat."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine, but there better be pie!"

Sam nodded, "Sure, I'll get you some pie, as long as the doctor say's it's alright for you to eat it."

"Pie makes me heal faster. It's a healing food Sam. Tell the doctor that!" Dean yelled as Sam walked out the door. "Love me some pie." He muttered, closing his eyes as he leaned back into the pillow. Shutting his eyes for a few moments wouldn't hurt anything, would it?

XXXXX

Dean rolled his eyes as the nurse brought a wheelchair into his room, "I don't need one, I can walk."

Crowley sigh, "Bloody Winchesters. You have to leave the hospital in the wheelchair, you don't have to go any further than the front doors if you don't want to. Now, you should have remained in the hospital for another two days to make sure you're back at a hundred percent but considering you've done good in the respiratory therapy and your strength building, I'm allowing you to leave early as long as you promise that you will rest at home for two weeks at least. You can return to lifting heavy objects and strenuous activity in three to four months. After you have rested at home for two weeks you can return to part time work but I would suggest taking time each day to do some breathing exercises. Just because your lung is healed it doesn't mean that everything is. You will remain short of breath for the next couple of months and if it persists past that you should return to the hospital as soon as possible for a check up. Other than that, I expect to see you in four months for a check up to see if your breathing is back to normal."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Thank's doc, but I'm pretty sure I can jump back on the bandwagon now."

"I doubt that. I informed your brother and his fiancee about the guidelines I have given you and they have informed me that they will make sure you follow them." Crowley said, smirking at Dean, "Good luck, Dean."

Dean glared at Crowley as he walked out. He walked over to the nurse and sat in the wheelchair, crossing his arms and glaring at everyone they passed on the way out. As soon as the door came into view he got ready to jump out of it.

He spotted Baby right outside the door, Sam standing beside it. "Baby!"

He jumped out of the wheelchair and made his way over to his beloved Impala, caressing the hood with a loving look in his eye.

"Benny, Ash, and Bobby have been working to get her back in perfect condition for when you were released. She's got a new paint job, a new drivers door and window, along with some new interior on the door." Sam said, getting into the passenger seat. He'd ridden with Dean when Dean had been drinking, him on a high dosage of Ibuprofen would be nothing new.

Dean grinned, "They deserve the raise they're getting!" He cranked the ignition and closed his eyes as he heard her purr to life.

"Do I need to leave you two alone for a moment?" Sam asked, grinning at the familiar back and forth.

"Don't listen to him, Baby, we have something special." Dean said, stroking the steering wheel before gripping the shifter sticking out of the side of the steering column. "Let's go get Emma."

XXXXX

Dean walked up to the school, he knew there was only about ten minutes left of the school day but he couldn't wait to see his little girl. He hadn't seen her in five days, could you blame him?

He knocked on the door and was surprised to see Bela open it.

She raised a brow, "Winchester, what are you here for?"

"Hey, Bela, nice to see you too. Didn't know that Ms. Talbot was you but I should've guessed." Dean said, "Anyways, I'm here to get my daughter."

Bela's eyes widened, "You have a daughter?"

Dean rolled his eyes and looked around Bela and saw Emma, smiling widely at her, "Emma!"

Emma looked up and spotted him. "Daddy!" She got up and ran over to him, tackling him into a hug that caused Dean to wince but say nothing to her about it. He pulled her into a big hug.

"Hey princess, have you been good this week?"

"Yes Daddy! Where have you been? Uncle Sam said that you were busy at work." Emma said, frowning.

"I'll tell you later. Why don't we go and get some ice cream?"

"Ice cream!"

Bela frowned, "Winchester, there is still time left in the school day and there is nothing saying that you can leave with Emma."

Dean glared at her, "Emma, get your things."

Emma nodded and went and grabbed her things from her desk.

"Is there a problem here?"

Dean and Bela turned to see a woman in a grey pantsuit with her hair back in a tight bun.

"Naomi."

"Principal."

"Dean, from what I last heard you were having Benny and Ash pick Emma up from school." Naomi said, frowning at him.

"Well, I haven't seen her in five days so I figured I'd come and get her today." Dean said, smiling as Emma walked back over to him and took his hand.

"Fine, I will allow it seeing how the bell will be ringing here in a moment. I expect you to have her back in class on Monday on time." Naomi said, turning and walking away.

Dean chuckled and looked down at Emma, "Come on, let's go get you some ice cream."

"Can we go to Sylas & Maddy's? Oh! Can we invite my friend too?" Emma asked, bouncing up and down. "We need to get my stuff too!"

Dean chuckled, "Of course princess. And Sammy's waiting at the house, he figured it would be alright for me to take you for ice cream alone so I dropped him at the house on the way."

Emma pouted, "Uncle Sam didn't want to come?"

"I think he just wanted to spend some time with your Aunt." Dean said, winking.

Emma giggled as they walked out the door. She looked up and spotted Claire and Castiel. "Ah! There she is!" She took off running, not letting go of Dean's hand.

Dean laughed as he was drug behind Emma. He looked to where she was headed and spotted Castiel and Claire. "Hey Cas!"

Castiel turned and spotted him and Emma. He had a look of confusion on his face.

"Hello Dean, Emma."

"Daddy said that it would be alright for me to ask if Claire could come and get ice cream with us!" Emma said, bouncing up and down.

"I don't see why not..." Castiel said, "She got good grades on her tests this week and summer vacation has just started for her..."

"Lucky! I still have two days of school left!" Emma said, pouting.

Dean chuckled, "It's not that bad Emma, besides, I'm gonna be pickin you up and droppin you off those days."

"Really?" Emma asked, turning to Dean and smiling. At Dean's nod, she squealed and hugged him again. "Yay!"

Castiel smiled, "I didn't realize that Emma was your daughter. I should have, considering she kept calling Sam her uncle..."

"Yeah, not many people see the resemblance and I usually have Benny or Ash get her. Lettin people know she's mine has been a hazard for a while but I'm guessin it's safe now so I'm gonna be showin up around town with her more often." Dean said, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, Do you think Dad could come with us?" Claire asked, looking at Dean.

"I'm sure they don't want me to come along." Castiel said.

"Nah, it'll be fine Cas. Besides, with our kids bein such good friends, least we could do is get on friendly terms too." Dean said.

"Oh, alright..." Castiel said, blushing.

"We can take my car, that way we don't have to worry about two cars." Dean said, pointing back at the sleek, black impala. "She's a good ride and just got out of the shop!"

Castiel nodded, "Let me lock my car. We will come back and get her, won't we?"

"Course!" Dean exclaimed, watching as Castiel went and locked the doors to a Lincoln Continental.

"Cassie's car's called Cassandra, Daddy, he let me name it!" Emma said, smiling up at Dean.

"Did he now? Well, it's a fitting name for it. What made you choose Cassandra though?" Dean asked as he lead the three back to the car.

"Cause we can shorten it to Sandy!" Emma said, grinning widely as Dean started laughing.

Emma and Claire crawled into the back seat of the Impala as Castiel got into the passenger seat. He frowned at the box of cassettes on the floorboard, "What is this?"

Dean leaned over and picked up a cassette, showing him the front picture of a man in a school outfit with bright letters saying ACDC. "This is my classic rock collection. Best of the best!"

Castiel dug through the box as Dean backed out, "There's a lot in here..."

"Yup. I've listened to them all probably a hundred times each. Been listenin to them since I was born." Dean said, turning up the radio so the tones of Brian Johnson and Angus Young poured from the speakers.

Castiel listened for a few seconds before reaching for the volume knob, only to get his hand smacked by Dean. Castiel frowned at him and Dean smiled.

"Driver picks the music-" Dean started.

"Shotgun shuts his cakehole!" Emma echoed, finishing the sentence.

Castiel looked between the two before he started laughing, causing the others to follow along.

Yeah, they'd get along great.

Note: I don't know if the ice cream place, Sylas & Maddy's, is still open or anything, I live in Arkansas, not Kansas. I googled ice cream shops and it popped up and I thought it would be better than TCBY or Coldstone mainly because it seems more like a family owned thing than a big corporation and I tend to root for the little shops and like them a lot more than the bigger shops. So, if the place isn't open anymore, and I hope to Chuck it is because it sounds awesome on their Facebook page, I'm sorry. I also think that some of the ice cream flavors have been changed but let's ignore that for now. Also, a link to hear the song that Emma listens to to go to sleep is a this youtu . be / euBtAlE44tY link. I thought it only appropriate to use the song that Jensen sings to JJ since it's a beautiful song.