Chapter 12
"You get the boys up and I'll get Mary."
"Ok, Es." Dean replied getting up and heading down the hall after Esmee, splitting at the bedrooms.
"Wake up sweet pea." Esmee coxed Mary picking her up.
Mary wiggled and rubbed her eyes, looking up into Esmee's face. "Mama."
"Yes sweetie. Let's get you a dry diaper and something to eat."
"Come on guys, Hammy has dinner ready."
Esmee heard Dean talking to their sons from their bedroom. She huffed a laugh, they were never going to call Sam by his right name if Dean had anything to do about it. She shook her head realizing how resilient kids were.
"Come on let's go eat."
Dean and the boys were heading for the dining room as Esmee carried Mary out of the bedroom. She joined them in the dining room checking that the boys were seated.
"Ca-Ca." Mary called reaching and squirming for Castiel.
"Who's..."Esmee started and realized that was her name for Castiel. "Castiel, right." she answered herself as Castiel took Mary from her arms.
"Ca-Ca." she smiled happily at him patting his cheeks.
"Dinner is ready for you Mary. Sam made mac and cheese, do you like that?"
"Ma-Ma." she clapped.
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"You know Castiel, Mary can eat from her high chair."
"I know Esmee, but she likes me holding her." Castiel responded feeding Mary another spoon of mac and cheese.
"Dee, can you give the boys their baths, while I give Mary one?"
"Sure."
"Be sure to get all the paint off them."
"Should make Sammy do it."
"Hey! Wasn't my fault, blame the angel."
"What did I do?"
"So clueless. Finish up guys, it's bath time next."
"Can we watch the Ice Age movie?"
"Part of it, you had an exciting day and there's school tomorrow, so bedtime's early tonight."
"But Mom!"
"You heard your Mom, no arguing." he said in that calm voice everyone knew meant business.
"Yes sir." both replied looking up at him.
"Both of you, come here a moment, I wanna talk to ya." Dean said motioning for the the two boys to join him.
Chance and Tyler looked at each other knowing neither had done anything wrong, unless it was getting paint on their clothes and Uncle Hammy's. They got up slowly and walked around the table to Dean, who had scooted out so he could face them. Dean looked carefully at each boy before leaning closer to them to talk.
Sam and Esmee watched not sure what was going on, but ready to intercede if need be. Dean had only been back a few days and everyone was going to have to get use to each other again.
"I wanted to tell both of you how proud I am of the way you protected your baby sister yesterday. You were very brave and kept your heads about you. You did what your Momma told you and remembered what you were taught." Dean explained looking from one boy to the other. He noticed Tyler seemed uneasy and a little upset. "Ty what's wrong?"
"N't brave, wus scar'd." he whispered sadly.
"Hey, look at me." Dean said softly taking a finger and tilting his head up so he could look at him.
"That's nothin' to be ashamed of, there's a lot of times when Uncle Hammy and me go out huntin' we're afraid, but we don't let it stop us from helping people. You don't have to be upset about feeling like that. I'd be worried if you weren't afraid. I know your real Daddy, who's looking down on you from Heaven; I bet he's busting with pride for both of you right now. Because of you two, keeping your sister quiet, saved you from being found by the bad people. You and Chance can hold your heads high, I couldn't love you any more than if you were my real sons."
Chance and Tyler threw their arms around Dean's neck, hugging him tightly. They had missed their adopted father and were so glad to have him back. Sam tried to fill the void during that time, but it wasn't the same. They loved him very much, but they missed Dean. Dean gave each a big kiss on the head before pulling back to be sure they were ok.
"Since school is going to be out in the next couple of weeks, I'm plannin' a surprise for you guys."
Esmee quietly got up to get more drinks so the boys wouldn't see the tears brimming her eyes as she brushed them away. Sam watched her as he swallowed a huge lump in his throat, trying to hold back his own tears. Castiel watched each human closely, tilting his head slightly, curious of each one's reaction to what Dean was saying. It was always interesting to watch the interactions of humans.
"What is it?"
"Now I can't tell you that, it would spoil the surprise. You'll just have to wait and see."
"I love you Daddy." Chance whispered in his ear.
"Luv yu." Tyler mumbled against his neck.
"Ok, look, maybe Castiel will read you a bedtime story tonight, would you like that?"
"Please, will you?" Chance begged looking hopefully at Castiel.
"Please!" Tyler added giving him his best puppy dog eyes.
"I guess I can." Castiel said looking from Dean to Esmee for assurance. "You can pick a book."
"Yea!" the boys cheered, making Mary cry out happily too even thought she didn't know why.
"Dean and I will clean up, since you cooked Sam."
"We will?"
"Yes we will, this family shares the work, that never changed."
"Ok, I get to wash then."
"Chance, have Uncle Sam start the movie for you guys and after we've cleaned up, you guys get baths and bed."
"Will you Uncle Ham?"
"Yes, Castiel want to watch with them?"
"Yes, the Ice Age was an interesting time for the world."
"Yeah...Right...This is an animated movie for kids."
"I don't believe I'm familiar with that."
"You'll get the hang of it. Come on guys."
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"So what's your take on the angel?" Esmee asked quietly.
"I don't know yet, just take my word for it, don't piss him off."
"Not how I pictured one, that's for sure. He seems so..."
"Yeah, I know."
"Think he will help us?"
"We'll see."
"So you'll have him come to the meeting?"
"Yeah, might as well."
"Guys, just so you know, he can hear you talking." Sam called from the living room. "Celestial being and all, found out earlier."
"At least we weren't saying anything bad."
"I want to move Mary into her room. I think it's time."
"You sure?"
"Yes, she's old enough and it will give us some privacy."
"I'm liking the sound of that." Dean said stealing a kiss.
"Hey, wash the dishes, these two aren't clean."
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"I'm not sure I understand why the mammoth is doing that?"
"He loves his family and will do anything to protect them and get back to them."
"Oh."
"Ok, guys, you'll have to watch the rest tomorrow, bath time and bed."
"Ok, Dad can we play with the boats in the water?"
"Boats?"
"Uncle Ham let's us."
"They're in a basket in their bathroom Dean."
"Ok then, go grab your pjs out of your bedroom and I'll start the water." Dean said trying not to feel left out by the five months he was gone. That time he missed with the kids, can never be recaptured and it made him feel like he wasn't on the same page as everyone else.
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With the kids in bed, the adults gathered around the dining room table with cups of coffee. Dean looked at the others sitting around the table, all looking for him to start.
"After what happened with the demons, we need to take extra precautions to guard our home and keep everyone safe." he started. "I wanted to send Esmee and the kids away but..."
"That is not going to happen." Esmee finished strong. "Whatever happens with this family, we will be together. I just got Dean back; I'm not losing him again. That option is off the table."
"I've talked to Bobby about a warding spell for the house and protection spells for everyone else."
"Is there one to stop demons from finding us?"
"Bobby's working on that. He said he had a few tricks up his sleeve, but I want to be sure Esmee and the kids are protected. Castiel are you sticking around and if so, will you keep them safe?"
Castiel looked from Dean to Esmee before he answered.
"I am here to keep you safe, you are the important one."
"No, I'm not, my family comes first." he argued.
Castiel thought for a moment before answering Dean.
"I may have a solution, if you agree."
"What?"
"I can have one of my soldiers come down and watch over them."
"Great another dick angel." Dean muttered under his breath to receive a kick under the table from Sam. He frowned at him letting him know he should listen. "Alright and is this angel going to want to do this?"
"I have one in mind that will be a good choice. He's young and loyal and will fit in, I think. I will go to him now and shall return."
With a swoosh of wings and disturbance of the air, he vanished. Esmee's eyes widened and she looked at Dean not knowing that Castiel could do that.
"Yeah, he does that." Dean shrugged.
"What else can we do?" Sam asked leaning back in his chair.
"I wish I knew. I figure the bastards were pissed I was freed and were going to use Esmee to trap me or something."
"Do you remember what happened to you, you know, when you were there?"
"No, don't remember anything." he stated flatly looking away from the two not willing to talk about it.
Sam knew his brother and knew he wouldn't talk unless he wanted to. He knew Dean was lying to him, but didn't press the issue. If Dean wanted to talk about it, he would, when he was ready, but not before then. Sam just hoped he wouldn't try to shoulder this all on his own.
Esmee gave Sam a knowing look. She knew Dean didn't want to tell them about it. She figured it was too much for him to handle right now. She would try to talk to him later when they were alone.
Castiel suddenly appeared beside the table, along with a teenager dressed in a red Wiener Dog uniform with the name Alfie stitched on the shirt.
"Dean, this is Samandriel, he will help watch your family."
"Doesn't look like much." Dean commented looking the scrawny kid up and down. "You sure he's an angel?"
"We didn't have much time and this was an available vessel."
"I have the powers of an angel." Samandriel stated trying to look menacing.
"What about his parents, won't they be missing him?" Sam asked looking at the kid.
"He has no family; they were killed when he was ten. He was in foster care until recently when he turned eighteen." Castiel informed them. "He chose this of his own free will."
"His faith is strong." Alfie told them.
"If you say so, Saman...Samdr...Look can't call you Sam, so Alfie it is."
"Alfie?" Samandriel asked looking to Castiel for help.
"It's on your shirt, must be the kid's name. You any good with kids?"
"I'm not sure, but I will do what Castiel requests of me."
"Well first thing, you need some more clothes, so you can blend in easier." Esmee said. "Come on; let me see what I can find."
Esmee took Alfie's arm and lead him toward the bedroom. He looked back at Castiel unsure about this, until he nodded it was fine, then allowed Esmee to pull him down the hall.
"Don't worry Dean, Samandriel is a loyal follower, he will protect your family."
"I'm holding you to that."
"Is there anything else I can do tonight?"
"No, just be sure there are no other threats around tonight."
"Alright, I will be sure you are safe."
"So what have you got planned for the kids?" Sam asked curious about what Dean might have planned.
"We're going on a vacation."
"Vacation?"
"Yeah, get away from here for a few days, let everyone relax, unwind." he shrugged. "It will do everyone some good."
"Where?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."
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"This is the best I could do tonight. We'll get him some clothes that fit tomorrow."
Esmee informed everyone as they came back into the dining room. Alfie was dressed in oversize sweats and a tee-shirt that had to be hers. He self-consciously pulled the sweats up and looked at Castiel for guidance.
"Will you guys be ok in the living room tonight?"
"Yes, like I said, we need not sleep. We will keep watch."
"Come on, lets go to bed, night."
"See you in the mornin'" Sam told them getting up and heading for his bedroom.
"Good night guys."
"Good night Esmee, Dean, Sam."
"Er-r good night." Alfie called too. "So what do we do now?"
"We stay here and make sure they remain safe." he said settling back on the couch and listening to the surroundings in and around the house. He listened for any noise that was out of place or any thing that might be a danger to his charges. Alfie imitated Castiel and tuned in on his surroundings, getting familiar with the strange sounds here on the earth. He had never been chosen for such a mission and wanted to be sure what he did was right.
A/N: Hope you like the new angel Alfie joining the story. I loved him in the show and wanted to put him in one of my stories. Thank you for all who are following, have favored and for the reviews. Please leave me a review.
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