AN:: Don't own Supernatural or the books mentioned in this. Nor do I own the song Hey Jude.

The group walked into Sylas & Maddy's and up to the counter.

"Hey guys, didn't think I'd see you three back in here so soon." The woman behind the counter said, smiling, "Who's this?"

"That's my Daddy!" Emma said smiling from her spot beside Dean.

"Really? Well I can see where you get your looks! Why don't we get you all some ice cream? What can I get you?" She asked.

Emma bounced up and down, "Can I get a scoop of Pumpkin pie in a cone?"

"Scoop of cookie monster for me please!" Claire said, moving to the glass separator in front of the ice cream.

"A scoop of chocolate chip if you don't mind." Castiel said, smiling at the woman.

"Ya still got apple pie? If so, I'd like a scoop of that." Dean said.

The woman nodded, ringing them up and taking the money from Dean when he handed it to her. She gave him the change as the man behind the glass handed the cones over to them.

"We're gonna go sit over here, ok dad?" Claire said, already dragging Emma over to a table near the wall.

Castiel frowned and looked over at Dean who shrugged and lead him over to a table by the window.

"Well then, how ya been, Cas?" Dean asked, "I mean, we haven't really been able to talk for the past few days. Thanks for takin care of Emma, by the way."

Castiel sighed, "Dean, it was not a problem, Emma was very polite and she's very smart. She helped Claire with her math homework."

Dean smiled brightly, "Really? That's great. That she was able to help that is..."

Castiel smiled, "Yes, well, it's a good thing Emma knows what it was talking about because I'm horrible at Math. I was more into the science aspect of school than anything else, though I was pretty good at English."

"I was decent at Math and Physics, shop class too. Other than that... I didn't do very good. Moved around a lot when I was younger and didn't really have a stable home life. Doesn't help that I'm dyslexic either." Dean said, sighing.

Castiel frowned, "Why didn't you have a stable home life? Weren't your parents around?"

"Not really. My mom died when I was little in a house fire and my dad... well, he didn't take it too well and started drinkin. He took up bounty huntin to try to kill the arsonist who set our house on fire... Dad died when I was nineteen but he left me and Sam by ourselves when I was seventeen. He left us with Baby luckily. I'd been helpin him with a lot of his hunts by that point too so I wasn't really out of a job. But I had to take care of Sam and then Emma. I ended up with three jobs at one point and dropped out of school. Anyways, enough about that. I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Tell me somethin about you."

"Well, I have three older brothers, they're technically triplets but look nothing alike, and a younger sister. My brothers used to torment me and Hannah but when our mother died the oldest of the triplets, Michael and Luke, ditched and Gabriel ended up taking care of us until we were old enough to leave. Hannah is now the sheriff of the Las Vegas Police Department. Michael works for the FBI and I have no idea where Luke is, he kind of dropped off the face of the Earth. I believe Gabriel is a teacher at a college but I can't remember which college." Castiel said as they finished their ice cream.

"What about your dad?" Dean said, frowning, "You haven't said anything about him."

"He's a drunkard and probably laying around in my childhood home up in Pontiac." Castiel said, sighing, "He was a drunk before mother died and he remained one after the fact. He still gets a decent income from a series of books he wrote."

"He's a writer?" Dean asked.

"He wrote the Supernatural series. There's a decent sized following of the series and a few conventions but he only goes to them because he gets money from it. He's got a new girlfriend, Becky, who is helping him continue the series but I have no clue how that's going to end." Castiel rolled his eyes.

"It's pretty cool that he can write a series though." Dean said.

"I suppose..." Castiel muttered, "Do you read any books?"

"Well, it's a bit difficult for me to but I really enjoy Kurt Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse Five is one of my favorites." Dean said, ducking his head down in embarrassment.

"Really? I wouldn't have taken you for a Vonnegut fan, I was thinking more of Ian Fleming." Castiel said, chuckling.

"Hey, Fleming is good but Vonnegut is classic. What's your favorite book?" Dean asked, leaning forward.

"If I had to choose one I would probably go with Gothe's Faust." Castiel said, "Have you read it?"

"Can't say I have. What's it about?" Dean said.

"Oh it's brilliant. It's a story about a deal. The devil, Mephistopheles, makes a deal with God that he can corrupt Faust, a righteous man. Faust is trying to obtain infinite knowledge and suspects that he is failing and prepares to kill himself but is stopped by the Easter celebration. Faust makes an arrangement with the devil: the devil will do everything that Faust wants while he is here on Earth, and in exchange Faust will serve the devil in Hell. Faust's arrangement is that if he is pleased enough with anything the devil gives him that he wants to stay in that moment forever, then he will die in that moment.*

"The story is actually in two parts and the second part is in five acts and all represent a different theme and you learn what happened to Faust in the second part which takes place in the wide world instead of the small world like part one." Castiel finished.

"Sounds interestin, I'll have to check it out. Though it'll be a while before I finish it." Dean said, grinning.

"Then I'll read Slaughterhouse Five. If you have intentions to read my favorite book then I'll read your favorite book. It's only fair." Castiel said frowning. "Anyways, you asked me how I've been but I never returned the favor. How have you been Dean?"

"Well, I've been better." Dean said, chuckling, "Just got out of the hospital this afternoon."

"You were in the hospital? What for?" Castiel asked, concern in his voice.

"Well, you know how I mentioned that I used to be a bounty hunter? The man who killed my dad showed up at the shop as I was leaving Monday and shot me."

"You were shot?" Castiel said, looking Dean over.

"It wasn't that bad, really."

"You were in the hospital for five days, Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes, "It's not the first time I've been shot and I doubt it'll be the last time. Besides, the worst spot I got his was my lung, that's the only reason I was in the hospital. Usually if I get shot I don't even go to the hospital and I have Sam patch me up or I patch myself up if he's not around. But yeah, had to talk to the cops about the shootin and everythin."

Castiel frowned, "What about the man who shot you? Is he going to prison?"

Dean's expression turned dark, "You don't want to know what happened to him, Cas."

"Dean," Castiel said, laying his hand on top of Dean's, "I'm not going to judge you for anything that you did. You had your reasons behind doing what you did..."

"I killed him. Stabbed him in the chest." Dean said, "He was threatenin to kill Jess in front of Sam and if he had known about Emma I'm sure he would've killed her too. He killed my dad and said he wanted the whole set. He was spyin on me at work and said that he knew about Sam and Jess' engagement so I knew he'd been there for a few hours. I didn't know if he was gonna go after them as soon as he killed me or if he was gonna go after Benny and Ash. I'd say that I regret killin him, but I don't. I know that bein a bounty hunter doesn't give me a good reason to kill someone, it's not a good reason to me or the man upstairs. But I'm hopin that I'll be forgiven for protectin my family."

Castiel frowned, "Dean, no one is going to judge you for wanting to protect your family. There will be a lot of people who will judge you for what you have done but you're just protecting yourself and your family. It's quite admirable. Your willingness to protect your family is astounding. I know people who wouldn't even think about saving their family if it meant they had to die. Do not shoulder this guilt, Dean. You don't deserve it."

Dean chuckled, "You're too nice, Cas. People round here like talkin about me behind my back all the time. Think I can't hear them but I can. I'm sure people are gonna start treatin Emma differently now that they know I'm her Dad. It's what happened with Sam and in Emma's other schools."

"Other's may treat her differently now, that's true, but the one's worth keeping are the one's who don't think of her any differently." Castiel said, frowning at Dean, "And Claire will remain her friend. Claire sees Emma like a little sister, talks about her all the time."

Dean smiled, "Thanks, Cas."

"Daddy?"

Dean looked to the side to see Emma standing there, Claire just behind her, "Hey princess, you done?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let's get back to the car." Dean said, wincing as he stood up.

XXXXX

"So, we'll follow you back to your house to get Emma's things. If that's alright with you that is." Dean said as he parked beside Castiel's car.

"That will be fine." Castiel replied, "We don't live far from here."

Dean nodded and watched as Castiel and Claire took off in the Lincoln.

He followed close behind and frowned as they got closer and closer to his street and when Castiel pulled into the driveway of a two story house with a tree that looked burnt in an area, Dean couldn't help but follow and slowly get out of the car.

Emma bounced over to Claire and started talking but Castiel looked back at Dean and frowned.

Dean was looking at the tree with a fond smile on his face. He could remember being little and John pushing him on their old swing, even the few times Dean had been playing with his toy trucks while Mary had been pregnant and had taken the swing for herself.

He could still remember her and John laughing as he pushed her on the swing and even him running over to his parents and helping John push Mary higher. There had been times when they had just come out and sat under that tree and enjoyed each others company. John playing the guitar, something that one of his coworkers at the shop had taught him to do, and Mary singing and him trying to sing along while his parents laughed. He remembered John trying to teach him a few notes and him failing at it horribly, he had only turned four recently and Sammy had been curled up on the blanket sleeping away.

"Dean?" Castiel asked, placing a gentle hand on Dean's shoulder and knocking him out of his thoughts.

Dean looked over at Castiel, blinking, "Huh, oh, hey Cas. What's wrong?"

"Claire and Emma have already gone in. I was wanting to ask something before we went in..." Castiel looked down at the ground for a moment, seemingly collecting his thoughts before looking Dean in the eyes, "I would like it if you would join me for dinner tomorrow, if you are available, that is."

Dean blinked, "Are you asking me out?"

Castiel frowned, "I believe that is exactly what I'm trying to do." He tilted his head, "Though if you don't 'swing that way' then I take my statement back but I assumed from the few talks that we had and then the talk over the ice cream today..."

"I'd like to go on a date with you, Cas." Dean said, scratching the back of his head, "It just threw me off havin someone ask me out and not the other way around."

"You've never had someone ask you out before?" Castiel asked, "Well, then it's an honor to be the first one to request your presence." He smiled, letting Dean know he was joking.

Dean rolled his eyes, a grin on his face, "Ya nerd." He threw an arm around Castiel's shoulders, "So, where you plannin to eat?"

Castiel and Dean headed to the front door, Castiel explaining the plan to go to a restaurant called The Mad Greek, 'Their burgers are really good, Dean', and mentioning maybe going for a walk after.

As they walk into the house the wide, happy smile that was on Dean's face fades into a melancholic one as he looks around.

"The place looks great Cas." Dean says, looking at the kitchen as he remembers his mom making pie for him and his dad. He remembered hugging her after a pretty intense fight between her and John before they ate a whole pie.

"Dean," Castiel said, seeing the look on his face, "are you sure you're alright? Would you like a cup of water?"

Dean nods, "S-sure Cas, that'd be great."

He followed Castiel into the kitchen and sat down at the island, plopping into the barstool. Castiel looked at him out of the corner of his eye as he filled a couple cups with water from the tap. He set the cup down in front of Dean and took a seat beside him.

"What's wrong?" Castiel asked.

Dean looked up at him and chuckled, "What makes ya think somethin's wrong?"

Castiel cocked a brow, "Really? You've been coming into my shop everyday for nearly two weeks now and we've talked for hours those times you've come in. It may not have been a long time but I've noticed how to tell when you're upset about something; and you're upset."

Dean smirked and rubbed a hand down his face, "Ya know, Sammy used to pull the same thing on me when we were growin up. Used to always stare at me when he thought somethin was wrong and he had these big eyes back then, puppy dog eyes, even worse back then than it is now. He'd get me talkin after a few minutes starin. Always tried to start somethin before the starin too. I always tell him no chick flick moments when he want's to talk about feelin's and shit."

Castiel rolled his eyes, "Probably because if you let all of that build up then it releases at the wrong time. Now, I'm not letting you walk out of here until you tell me what's wrong."

Dean sighed, "Look, Cas, I don't like talkin about these things."

"Well, you need to." Castiel said, "You've been acting strange since you walked in here and I'm curious as to why. This is the first time that you've been here so I don't know what could be causing the personality shift."

Dean looked over at Castiel for a few moments, "I used to live here." Castiel frowned at him and opened his mouth but Dean cut him off, "It was back when I was four, so it's been a while. I used to live here with my mom and dad. Sammy only lived here for a few months after he was born."

"So you were acting weird because of this?" Castiel asked, frowning.

Dean chuckled, "Nah, just... Outside there used to be a tire swing on the tree and every Saturday my parents would go outside with a picnic basket and we'd sit under the tree and eat and dad would play the guitar and mom would sing Beatles songs." He sighed, "When Sammy was born we stopped for a bit. Didn't start up again until about four months after he was born and it wasn't long after that when mom died."

Castiel looked at Dean sadly and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Sammy's been tryin to get me to talk about it for years and I'm still not ready to talk about all of it." Dean explained.

"Well, what else did you guys do? You don't have to tell me anything, but your parent's sound lovely." Castiel said softly.

"Mom was." Dean said, a grin on his face, "Her name was Mary and she was the greatest. Made the best pies in the world and loved the Beatles. She use to sing me and Sammy Hey Jude instead of a lullaby and she had the prettiest voice."

Castiel smiled, "She sounds beautiful."

"She was..." Dean said with a sigh, "But she ended up with Dad. They use to have fights and I'd come into the kitchen and pull her outta the funk Dad put her in but he'd always come home and they'd work it out somehow. They loved each other more than anythin and I always think that's why dad did what he did."

"What do you mean?"

"Turned into a bounty hunter. Mom used to be one but got out of it when she met dad. Always told him that she didn't want her kids grownin up in it. Think he thought she'd come back just to kick his ass." Dean explained.

"Is that how you ended up in it?" Castiel asked, "Because of your father?"

"Yeah, I used to blame him for all the shit in my life but he was just a man who was dealt a shit hand and did his best with us kids." Dean said, "I might've missed out on a couple things but I did my best to do what my dad told me; protect Sammy." He finished off his water and pushed himself up out of the chair, "I should probably get Emma. Sam and Jess are probably wonderin where we're at."

Castiel stood up, knowing Dean wasn't going to discuss the subject anymore, "I'll take you up to Claire's room."

Dean nodded before giving Castiel a cocky grin, "So, I'll pick you up at six?"

Castiel smiled, "Of course. Do you think Sam would mind watching Claire tomorrow?"

"I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure it won't be a problem." Dean said as they headed up the stairs.

Castiel chuckled as he turned down the hall and stopped in front of Claire's door, "I'm sure."

He knocked on the door, opening it a moment later and stepping inside, "Emma, do you have your things?"

Dean stepped up beside him and looked in before freezing. Claire's room was Sam's old nursery, the room Mary had died in.

Emma nodded, "Yup!" She looked over at Dean and frowned, "Daddy?"

Castiel looked over at Dean and frowned when he noticed Dean frozen in the doorway. He placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, "Dean, are you alright?"

Dean blinked a few times before nodding, "Y-yeah, I'm alright."

XXXXX

Castiel walked Emma and Dean to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow Dean, Emma."

"Bye, Cassie!" Emma said, getting into the Impala.

Dean gave Castiel a small smile and wave before getting into the car too.

As they drove the short distance to their house, Castiel watched, Claire joining him.

"Is Dean okay? He was acting weird..." Claire said, looking up at Castiel.

"I'm not sure Claire." Castiel said, turning and going back inside, "He said that this was use to be his house and mentioned his family but that was all. Why?"

"He use to live here?" Claire asked, frowning, "Really? Wonder why he sold the place."

Castiel shrugged, "No idea, Claire. Now come on, we should get something made for dinner."

"Alright Dad."

XXXXX

Dean opened the door for Emma, letting her walk in ahead of him. He nodded to Jess and walked into the kitchen where Sam was digging around in the fridge. "Sammy."

Sam turned around, "Dean, hey, how wa-" He frowned when he noticed Dean's mood, "Are you alright?"

Dean sighed and walked up to Sam and dropped his head onto Sam's chest.

Without a word, Sam put his arms around Dean and gave him a hug, looking up when he noticed Jess in the doorway and shaking his head. Jess nodded and backed away from the door. Sam heard Jess ask Emma about a movie in the background.

"Dean, you wanna talk about it?"

At Dean's head shake, Sam sighed, "Well, then how about helping with dinner."

Dean snorted, "You makin food? How about no. I'm a warrior, Sammy, I can't-"

"Live off rabbit food, I know." Sam said, rolling his eyes with a smile as Dean pulled away and grabbed some hamburger from the fridge.

"Gonna make some spaghetti and I guess you can make a salad or somethin." Dean said, motioning towards the fridge.

As they got to work on dinner Sam decided to make some small talk, "How'd your date go with Cas?"

"What makes you think it was a date?" Dean asked, looking over his shoulder.

"You were supposed to pick Emma up and head back but you returned two hours late." Sam replied, pointing the knife at him, "And don't try to bullshit me, I'll get the answer out of you eventually."

Dean rolled his eyes before stepping away from the stove, letting the sauce simmer, "It wasn't really a date. Emma wanted to go get ice cream and wanted to invite her friend. Turns out it was Claire and they both asked if Cas could join us so I said alright. We got ice cream and I took them back to their car and followed them to their house. Me and Cas talked a bit and then we left."

"You're leaving a few things out there, Dean."

Dean leaned back against the counter, a small grin on his face, "Cas asked me to go for dinner tomorrow and I agreed."

Sam grinned, putting the chopped ingredients into a bowl and turning, "That's great! You've been pinning after him since you met him."

"I have not!"

"Benny and Ash say otherwise." Sam replied with a chuckle.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Bitch."

"Jerk. Now, what else is bothering you." Sam said, frowning, "You never instigate a hug like that unless something really bothered you."

Dean sighed and turned back to the sauce, stirring it. "I don't want to talk about it, Sam."

Sam sighed, "Dean, come on. You know when we don't tell each other things that bad things happen."

Dean rolled his eyes, "That happened one time, Sam, and I'm pretty sure that Bobby nearly beat the shit out of me for that one."

"Dean, you were fourteen and you went out on a bounty by yourself. We didn't know where the hell you were and if Rufus hadn't found you, you'd be dead. Now, tell me what's bothering you." Sam said.

Dean looked back at Sam before looking back down at the bubbling sauce, turning the heat down, "Cas bought the house."

Sam frowned, "What house?"

"Our house, Sammy, the one mom died in." Dean said, "Was the first time I was in there since it happened; didn't even go in there when they were fixin it up. Claire has your old room... Hadn't seen that room since Dad handed you to me and told me to get my ass outside. Never saw mom but I've heard enough of Dad's drunken ramblins to know what happened and piece it together. Had nightmares about it for months after that."

Sam felt his eyes burning as he walked up behind Dean, "Dee..."

"It's horrible, Sammy..." Dean whispered, "Soon as I saw that room again... it all just hit me."

Sam felt a tear slip down his face as he turned Dean around and pulled him into a hug, "Dee... thank you." He felt Dean try to pull away, "Look, if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be here. I never knew you were the one who pulled me out of there."

"Been protectin you since day one, Sammy. It's my job." Dean said before pushing Sam away, "Now, quit with the chick flick moment. Get the plates out of the cabinet and set them on the table. Spaghetti's done."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright."

Dean chuckled and turned back to the stove, pulling things off. Why worry about nothing anyways?

XXXXX

"Mary!"

Dean shot up in bed at the scream, he'd never heard something as sorrowful as that one word. He threw his blankets off and ran down the hall to his brothers room, seeing the flashes of shadows on the wall, his fathers outline and the outline of a crib, but no mother.

"Dad?"

As he neared the door to the room, though, he heard the voice change. Suddenly, it wasn't John's voice yelling, it was Sam's.

"Jess! Jessica!"

He round the corner to see Sam laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling in pain and horror. He looked up to see Jess pinned to the ceiling, fire all around her, burning her skin and hair away, the stench of burnt flesh burning his nose, blood on her stomach where it had been sliced open, the dark liquid pouring from it onto a small body on the floor.

He rushed into the room and grabbed Sam, "Sam, come on, we gotta get out of here!"

As he was pushing Sam towards the door he looked back and noticed who it was on the floor, "Emma..."

He turned to rush back into the room but Sam pulled him back, "She's dead Dean! They're both dead!"

Dean turned and looked at Sam to see tears in his eyes and closed his as he felt them burning, "We need to get outside, Sammy."

When he didn't hear a response he opened his eyes to see a knife sticking out of Sam's throat and blood pouring from his mouth, "D-Dee-"

Dean shot up in bed with a scream on the tip of his tongue but it never escaped. He felt tears rolling down his face and he couldn't stop it when the sobs started to escape along with a soft clicking noise. He felt his wings flare out and wrap around him, the pain in his wing nothing compared to the nightmare he had had. He needed his brother.

XXXXX

Sam sat up in bed, looking around the room. He knew he had heard something but he didn't know what.

"Sam? What's wrong?" Jess asked, rolling over and rubbing her eyes.

"I... thought I heard something." He responded, tilting his head to the side. Then he heard it again, the soft clicking. He threw his blankets off and got out of bed, running to the door and throwing it open.

"Sam?!" Jess yelled, getting out of bed and following him. She saw as he went into Dean's room and frowned as she heard a cooing noise. When she rounded the corner into the room she nearly screamed to see her fiance and soon to be brother-in-law with huge wings sprouting out of their backs.

"Jess, I'll explain later," Sam said as he climbed onto the bed and struggled to open Dean's wings, cooing again, "Can you get me the pills in the bathroom cabinet on the top shelf?"

She nodded and hurried into Dean's bathroom and grabbed the pills, along with a cup of water. She stood to the side as Sam finally got the wings away from his older brother.

"Dee?"

Dean looked up, tear tracks on his face, "Sammy?" He pulled Sam into a hug and started sobbing again.

"It's alright, Dee. I'm here."

"You were dead..." Dean whispered, "Jess and Emma too..."

Sam tensed up and looked over at Jess to see tears in her eyes. "What are you talking about, Dee?"

"Nightmare." Dean said, sniffing, "Dad was screamin bout mom then it was you screamin and Jess on the ceilin like mom and Emma was dead and then you had a knife in your throat an-"

Sam shushed Dean and pulled him back into a hug, rocking a little and pulling his wings up next to Dean's soothingly. "It's alright, Dee. We're okay, nothing's going to hurt us."

Dean nodded and hugged Sam closer.

Sam looked over at Jess and motioned to the pill bottle. Jess looked at it and pulled two pills out of the bottle and handed them to Sam along with the water.

"Dee? Dee. You think you can manage to take these for me? They'll help you sleep. I'll stay here while you sleep too."

Dean nods and grabs the pills, popping them in his mouth and taking a swig of water.

It's not long before his eyes are glassy and he's starting to nod off.

"I'm going to stay here with Dean tonight, Jess." Sam said, looking back at her, "He should be fine now."

Jess nodded, "If you're sure, Sam. Yell if you need anything."

"Alright." Sam said, moving to lay down with Dean in his arms.

As Jess close the door she heard Sam start to softly sing, "Hey Jude... don't make it bad..."

She could only hope that Dean would be better in the morning.

Note: *= taken from the wikipage for Gothe's Faust. I have read the book but it's been nearly five years and I can't remember everything. This seemed to wrap it up pretty well. I also feel like this would be a book Castiel would read mainly because it is a book about the battle between good and evil and ultimately ends with neither really winning and the realization that good and evil battle every day and that there is a deeper meaning behind everything. It seems like something that would interest him mainly because Faust messes up a lot but he eventually still arrives in Heaven. Also, Cas' opinion on Dean killing someone; it's mainly my opinion. I feel like it could be forgiven if you were protecting your family from someone. I'm not saying it's right, not at all. Killing someone is never right. But I feel like it's more understandable if you think about it from the point of view of a bounty hunter.