A week later, Castiel sat propped against the arm of the couch in his beach house with a blanket around his shoulders and the patio doors open. A breeze from the ocean ruffled the pages of the book he read with the cool smell of sea salt filling the house.

It was the second day they had been there. Castiel wasn't sure how long they would stay. When he'd said that he needed a leave of personal absence, his employers had been surprisingly accepting. Then again, since he had never taken time for himself before the last year, it only seemed right that they be accepting now.

The front door came open and Castiel heard Dean's boots on the foyer tiles before he came into the living room wearing his olive green jacket.

"Come on, Cas. We're going somewhere."

Castiel thought of complaining. He wanted to read, but then he thought of the previous weeks and how he'd treated Dean. He marked his spot and put the book down before pulling on a pair of Toms from beneath the coffee table.

"Where are we going?" Castiel asked as he went to the hall closet and took out his own coat. Dean wrapped his arms around him, looking over his face.

"I'm digging the nerdy Cas look. Might even like it more than business Cas."

Castiel smiled slightly. "I'm not playing librarian for you."

Dean laughed slightly and squeezed him before going back toward the front door.

"Where are we going?" Castiel asked again.

"You'll see," Dean said, holding the door open for Castiel and closing it behind them.

They got into Dean's car and drove down the quiet sand strewn roads of the small beach town. Castiel had the money to buy in the Hamptons, like many of his colleagues, but he enjoyed the small quietness of this place, even if the beaches may not be as white and were more latticed with driftwood.

They only drove for twenty minutes before Dean pulled onto a dirt road. Castiel paid more attention to the greenness of the fields against the overcast sky as his curiosity perked. After less than a mile, Dean pulled into a long driveway. There was a large shingle-sided house with a barn to the side. It was a very nice barn with extensive chain-link runs attached along the sides.

Castiel stepped out of the car when Dean did and heard barking. He looked toward the noise as a door slammed shut and a woman came down the back steps of the house, wearing a thickly cable-knit hooded sweater.

"You must be Dean," the woman said.

"Yep. Kathy, this is Castiel."

Kathy smiled at Castiel and held out her hand. Castiel shook it. Her hands were soft but firm. She was a very beautiful older woman with light lines bordering her eyes.

"It's good to meet you."

"You as well," Castiel said.

"Okay, well you two follow me," Kathy said as she walked across the dooryard to the barn.

When they reached it, she walked into a small side door and Castiel followed with Dean close behind. The smell of hay and horse feed filtered into Castiel's senses as he followed Kathy through a small side room to a wide aisle between stable doors. Barking increased, but it sounded like it was in a room beyond them.

"Sorry for the noise. Everyone's inside with the storm about to come in," Kathy said.

"No problem," Dean said.

Then Castiel saw a large metal sign hanging on the back wall of the large room they stood in.

Bayside Aussie Rescue

"Here we go," Kathy said as she went to a stall door and pulled it open. "These are the babies you called about, Dean."

When the door opened four brown and white Australian Shepherd puppies ran out. Their tails wagged frantically as Dean kneeled down, petting them with a wide smile. Castiel watched and smiled.

"We just got them from a puppy mill in New Jersey," Kathy said, standing near Castiel.

"How old are they?"

"Eight weeks."

Dean stood up with one of the puppies and put it in Castiel's arms. Castiel smiled slightly at the puppy's blue eyes and velvety soft puppy coat.

"You're very cute," Castiel said.

Then it licked into his mouth and he sputtered passing it back to Dean. Kathy and Dean laughed.

"The babies are hyper, but they'll settle down some," Kathy said.

"Get down here, Cas," Dean said crouching again.

Castiel kneeled in the hay littered aisle and two of the puppies immediately ran from Dean to him, putting their paws on his legs and trying to climb him. They were very pretty and sitting with them, petting them, Castiel saw glimpses of their personality. The one that had licked him was by far the most hyper. It clung to Dean, biting his fingers and twisting his small head.

"What do you think?" Dean asked.

"They're very pretty."

"Yeah. These guys won't have any problem finding a home," Kathy said.

Castiel continued to play with the puppies with Dean, trying to determine which they should adopt. He held all of them in turn, but even the calmest was filled with raw energy.

"Castiel, let's let Dean keep these guys busy. I've got someone I think you might like," Kathy said.

Castiel passed the puppy he was holding back to Dean then he followed Kathy down the aisle. At the end, there was another door. Then the sound of barking was very sharp. Inside, kennels were lined along the walls. Through the back of each kennel, he could see the outdoor runs attached. Older dogs jumped against the doors wagging their tails, some waited quietly, and other just laid down looking at him.

"Don't feel too bad for them. Most of the time they've got the run of forty acres. They just don't like being put in the pens," Kathy said. They went to the end of the aisle until Kathy stopped at a kennel. She opened the door and kneeled down. "Come here, pretty girl."

Castiel stood behind Kathy to see inside the pen. A blue merle Australian Shepherd came from the back of the pen and wagged her tail slowly. Castiel kneeled like Kathy and held out his hand to the dog.

"Her name is Dex. She's almost two."

Dex came up to Castiel and sniffed his hand then sat in front of him with her ears angled back slightly as her tail tapped the floor and she stretched her neck toward him. Castiel cupped the side of her small face and scratched behind her ear.

"She small," Castiel said.

"She's a miniature. A breeder bought her as a puppy, but she developed a hernia on her cervix, so she wasn't good for having puppies. That's how we got her."

Castiel's chest ached for just a flash as he reached out his other hand and held Dex's face. She was very pretty dog with a white muzzle and black spots on a gray background. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue.

"I've been waiting for a good home for her," Kathy said, smiling slightly as she watched Castiel petting Dex.

"I can see why. She's beautiful."

"I treat these dogs like my family," Kathy said, petting Dex's back. "I opened this rescue after I learned that I wasn't able to have children. It's really amazing how much healing they can bring if you let them."

It was all Castiel needed to know that Dean had told her about their situation, but he wasn't angry. Not embarrassed. He felt a sore throb of companionship.

"We've just tried once. It's daunting to say the least."

"Some actually think having a dog in the home helps. They relax a house."

Dex had scooted closer to Castiel and now he chin rested on his knee. Castiel picked her up and held her against his chest. She couldn't weigh more than twenty pounds, but she was so much calmer than the puppies. He smiled at her when she lightly licked his cheek.

"You would've had very pretty puppies," Castiel said to her.

Dex's tail wagged against him and Kathy smiled as she petted Dex's back.

"What do you think?" Kathy asked.

"I'd like to take her home," Castiel said, looking at the dog and feeling the first honest smile in over a month.

A year and a half later, Castiel stood in one of the second floor bedrooms in the beach house, tapping a nail into the pale gray wall. When the nail was in, he hung a framed painting of an animated pink owl. He smiled at it as he went to one of the plastic sacks in the rocking chair by the window.

He took out the sheets next. They were pale pink as he lowered the side of the driftwood crafted crib and fitted them to the mattress. His swollen stomach got in the way as he worked, but it was a distraction he was used to at nearly eight months. He tied the soft bumpers along the interior edges of the crib then went to put up the rest of the decorations.

He'd been hoarding the little pieces he'd found on the internet and different stores since he was four months along and Dean had dragged him into a store to pick something out. Castiel had been terrified to. He'd been terrified to even recognize that his stomach was puffing and the kind smiles of his colleagues when they would ask when he was due. When Castiel went home from that store, he had clutched a quilted stuffed owl in the passenger seat like the sky might fall.

After that, he had slowly gotten braver. With each ultrasound and positive report from the doctors, he'd began buying piece by piece. Now this was the first time they'd been to the beach house since he'd gathered everything. The only thing he'd had someone else do was paint the walls with little leafless trees. Everything else he liked to do and pick out by himself.

"Aren't you just the cutest little nester?" Dean asked, coming into the room and putting his arms around Castiel from behind.

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not. It's adorable," Dean said, rubbing the side of his wide belly. "It's really coming together in here."

"I love the crib," Castiel said, running his hand over the handcrafted piece.

"I do too."

There was the jingle of tags then Dex's nose bumped Castiel's fingers.

"Oh," Castiel said, going back to the rocker. He tried to move quickly, but it was a waddle. It was an irritating pace, but he couldn't deny that he loved the feeling of being heavy right then, in their home, in a nursery with Dean. "I found this at that dog boutique," he said, as he pulled out a pink owl themed dog bed. He laid against the wall by the crib.

Dean laughed, "I think you've got a problem with the owls."

"It's a theme, Dean. Everyone does it."

Dex went to the bed, circled and laid down. Castiel smiled and petted her head.

"She likes it."

"You could lay tinfoil down for that dog to lay on and she'd love it. She's up your butt sideways."

"That's gross, isn't it?" Castiel asked the dog. "He's vulgar."

Dex thumped her tail like she had any clue what Castiel was saying. Sometimes her eyes seemed so intelligent that Castiel thought she must know some of it.

"Help me hang this picture," Castiel said, going back to the rocker and handing Dean a hammer and nails.

A month later, Castiel laid in bed with the bedside lamp on. Dean was asleep against his back, snoring. Dex laid over his feet, heavy and warm. It was passed

four in the morning, but he wasn't tired as he brushed back fine silky dark hair from his daughter's tiny forehead. Her beautiful green eyes looked at him and his chest felt so full it ached as he smiled.