The weeks after Castiel's heat passed, but they were far from normal for him. Instead, they bred into a new kind of normalcy for him. Dean stayed the night with him frequently. Once he offered to go to Dean's, but Dean refused, saying it was too far from Castiel's work, but Castiel believed it was more likely the different state of their economic conditions. He didn't care. He enjoying having Dean in his home, even beginning to see Dean's things left behind.
His kitchen actually became used steadily for the first time since he'd had it remodeled years before. A radio appeared, installed beneath the cabinets by Dean. He learned to block out the noise of it while Dean cooked in the evenings and he began taking work home at a reasonable hour to spend the evenings with Dean three or four nights a week.
It was more companionship than Castiel had had in his life and he enjoyed it very much, even if Dean's cooking did make him nauseous more often than not with the increase in butter and red meat. Dean may not be good for his digestive tract, but he thought the benefits outweighed the cons by a large margin as he began to miss the heartbeat beneath his ear the nights that Dean stayed home.
Four weeks after Castiel's second heat, he went to see Dr. Aims again for another check on his progress. After taking a urine and blood sample, Dr. Aims came back into the small room, looking down at his clipboard.
"Have things improved?" Castiel asked.
Dr. Aims looked up and smiled. "Yes. Much better than I expected. Congratulations. You're going to be a father, Castiel."
Castiel stared. It felt like he was hearing something foreign. He had the immediate urge to ask if they had tested the right urine. He opened his mouth then closed it repeatedly, before forcing words from his mouth as Dr. Aims waited.
"Are you certain?"
Dr. Aims nodded and sat at his chair. He clicked on his computer then picked up his prescription pad.
"I'm prescribing you prenatal vitamins. Take them three times a day when you eat. I'll also give you something for the morning sickness, but you may still feel nauseous immediately after eating. The nurses at the front desk will schedule an ultrasound for next week so we can see how far along you are," the doctor said.
Castiel continued to stare, not taking in much of what he was saying.
He wasn't infertile. He was carrying a child. Dean was going to be a father. Then he looked down at his stomach.
He was going to be a father.
That night, Castiel paced the width of his flat. He tugged at his tie and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at his watch again. Dean should have left work by now. He should be here at any time, like Castiel had asked him to be. His stomach lurched and he cleared his throat, forcing the indigestion back down.
When Dean finally did knock, Castiel stopped in the middle of the flat and took a deep even breath. Then he pushed back his shoulders and went to the door pulling it open.
"Hey," Dean said, leaning down to kiss Castiel before stepping inside.
"Hello," Castiel said, pulling away after only a moment to close the door.
"I picked up dinner," Dean said, holding up a paper sack that was already beginning to turn clear from the grease draining to the bottom.
Castiel frowned as Dean tossed it onto the table and began taking out burgers and fries. The smell of it was making him sick.
"You going to eat?" Dean asked. Then he looked back at Castiel and his eyes softened slightly. "Damnit, you're stomach's still upset. I didn't think about the smell. I can go eat outside or something."
"It's fine," Castiel said.
"Did the doctor know what's going on?" Dean asked.
"I'm pregnant."
Dean froze in the process of unwrapping a burger. Then he slowly looked back toward Castiel. Castiel let him stare. He stared back for a handful of moments. Then he cleared his throat and glanced away. He heard Dean's boots on the tile then the carpet before he was being lifted from his feet roughly and crushed to Dean's chest.
"That's awesome," Dean said.
"I'm going to puke on you."
Dean quickly put him down, but held Castiel's face. Castiel inhaled deeply through his nose to soften the threat of vomit. Dean's hands so near his nose eased the burbling in his stomach. His wonderful smell of motor oil and cool air. Dean smiled. It felt like a kick to Castiel's chest when he saw Dean's eyes were moist.
"This is great, Cas," Dean said.
"I love you," Castiel said. It came from his mouth without his consent, but before it could grow awkward, Dean kissed him. His tongue pushed into Castiel's mouth once, and shallow, but the taste of him eased Castiel.
"Love you too," Dean said.
After Castiel had told Dean, his nerves settled and his upset stomach with it. He ate with Dean on the couch while they watched a movie Dean chose. Castiel fell asleep against Dean's side with his arm over him. When he woke, it was to Dean gently rubbing his lower stomach and he fell back to sleep easily.
The next morning, he woke in bed with Dean holding him from behind. One of his hands cupped Castiel's still flat stomach. Castiel texted Cooper to say he would be in late and went back to sleep in Dean's arms.
Castiel fell into a rhythm after consulting with his doctor again. Instead of skipping breakfast, he made himself wake up earlier and cook something, even if his stomach was upset and even if it was small. On the nights that Dean slept over, which was becoming frequent, he normally woke to the clatter of pans and Led Zeppelin playing quietly from the radio in the kitchen.
For lunch, he stopped ordering White Castle and had Cooper bring him salads with a combination of different foods he'd been told were good for fetal development. For dinner, he rarely took takeout. Instead, he slowly began to teach himself how to cook. Dean didn't complain, but Castiel knew the nights Dean didn't spend with him, he was quenching his craving for saturated fats.
The ultrasounds were a strange experience. Castiel could see the small pulsing of life growing inside of him, but he couldn't feel it. Not yet. The technician said it could be months before he did. It hardly mattered. While he couldn't feel movement, he felt that he was growing something and he believed it was precious.
When Castiel set a newspaper in front of Dean with home listings circled, it was the unspoken consent that they would be buying together. Castiel began to spend time on websites dedicated to decorating a nursery during his lunch hour and his hours after work.
Dean bought a plush monkey that felt like it were made of down and velvet for the nursery in the home they hadn't found yet. When they went to bed that night, Dean laid his hand over Castiel's slightly distended lower stomach while he kissed him softly and moved inside of him.
Castiel fell asleep with the plush monkey on his bedside table and his partner pressed to his back.