Ben pushed the front door open with wide eyes. "Wow... You guys painted, and... Got... new stuff for the living room." He pointed out. His brows raised as if he was impressed. Cas smiled, and helped him carry his bags to his room.

Dean was outside, unloading Ben's bike, and his skate board from Sam's truck bed. Sam helped him carry it all to the garage. "So, you think this transition'll be alright? Think he'll do okay here?"

Dean nodded, and held the side of his face, looking at the floor. "Yeah." He looked back over at Sam. "Yeah, I'm sure it'll all be fine." He inspected the placement of the bike, and how far it'd be from the Impala if it were in there too. "I'll tell you one thing though. Those handle bars even come near my side mirror, or that paint job-"

Sam smiled and watched him start to fume already. "You won't do anything. You know you won't."

Dean sighed, and pushed the door to the kitchen open. "Yeah, you're probably right. I wonder if he's seen his room yet." The trotted upstairs and to the end of the hall, anxious to see Ben. "Hey, buddy." Dean roughed up his hair.

Ben turned around with a huge smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around Dean's torso and squeezed him close. "Thank you so much Dean! This is awesome! Cas told me you built this whole half of the room by yourself!" He pointed over to the closet.

"Yeah, yeah. Anything for you, squirt." Dean sat on Ben's bed with Cas. "Cas is the one that bought you what's in there though." He pointed to the entertainment center.

Ben blushed. "I hadn't thought to look there yet. I've never had a tv before: I thought that was it." He walked to the wood framing around the T.V. Ben sat in the floor and pulled the drawers out, to find movies, and tugged on the doors to find an XBOX 360, a PS3, a sound system, and a Wii. The games were filled accordingly, in the side cabinets too. He marveled over it, and couldn't look away for a while. Sam watched as Ben made his way, pulling Cas into a tight hug. "You have to play. You play don't you? You'll play some XBOX with me right, Cas?"

Cas smiled and hugged Ben back, kissing the top of his shoulder. "Any time you want."

Dean was smiling, ear to ear as he looked up at Sam. "You guys coming over for dinner Friday?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, Jess already has his birthday gift ready."

"Wait. I get birthday presents too?" Ben squealed.

Cas laughed at the noise, but nodded in response. "We want you to feel at home here. We had to get you all the right stuff, kid. Plus, how are we gonna get you to go to school if we don't have anything to ground you from?" He teased.

Ben stuck his tongue out. "Ew. I forgot about that."

"Forgot about what?" Dean stood, hugging Ben again. He couldn't get enough. He'd missed his kid.

"School." Ben hissed the word, but let Dean pull him into a hug.

Cas sat on the couch. It was Friday: nearly a week after Ben's birthday party. He'd met all the family, and had settled into school pretty nicely. Things were looking up, but he still wasn't sure if Ben liked him as much as he liked Dean yet. He'd always dreamed of being the favorite parent, and this just wasn't coinciding with that. He huffed, but got up and went into the kitchen, starting dinner. Ben would be home soon. He made it a point to have dinner nearly done by the time Dean and he were settled in each night, since he was working from home now. He got a job writing reviews for books. He always knew going to college wasn't a mistake. He got to do what he loved each day now: read, write, and spend time with his new family.

"Cas, you'll never guess what happened today!" Ben said, tossing his back pack into the floor by the front door.

Cas peeked around the door way of the kitchen to confirm what he believed the noise had come from. He nodded. "Y'know there's a rack there by the door for a reason." He winked.

Ben smiled and hung his drawstring bag up on the coat rack. "But seriously. This girl came up to me at the skate park before school, and was like 'hey, you're cute' and I was like 'ew, gross' and then she wouldn't leave me alone all day! She kept leaving me notes at my desk in school, and even when I went to science, which is across the hall, she switched her hours so she'd have that class with me too!" He shook his head. "I see why you're with Dean. He's not crazy." He tried to grab for an apple out of the fruit bowl on the table. Cas shook his head, and took it from him before he got a bite. "Dinner's almost done, baby."

Ben sighed. "The one time I try to eat healthy and you take away my chances of running the mile at the end of the year."

"You're silly." He smiled, setting plates out. "Wanna help me with some silverware?" He asked.

Ben scooted off the counter and grabbed three forks, three spoons, three steak knives and a straw. He started to lay them out. "Why the straw?" Cas asked.

"I like to feel classy when I drink tea, Dad." He tipped his chin up and closed his eyes.

Cas' heart beat stuttered. He couldn't help but let off a smile. "You called me Dad. What's Dean gonna think about that?"

"Do you not want me to?" He challenged. He was smiling too.

"Of course I want you to. We didn't spend x amount of dollars on your room for nothing." He laughed. "We want you to love us like we love you."

"Yeah," He said, pointing the straw at Cas. "I added up a few things... Those gaming systems. It's pretty expensive. How much did you spend on me?"

Cas walked around the table, fixing chairs. He kissed the top of Ben's head. "That's big people stuff. Don't worry about it. Just know that you're safe here, and if you ever need anything, to let me or Dean know."

He nodded, growing a little quiet. After a minute or two, Cas was back at the stove, stirring pasta in a pot of boiling water. He brought it to the sink and began to drain it. After the fog of it cleared, he looked back at Ben, who was sporting a face of mixed up emotions. Cas chewed on his lip. "Something wrong, Ben?" He asked. He had to grow the courage to. He didn't know if he could answer all the questions about why or when or how without Dean here. Dean was always better at that. Depending on the question, Cas might not be able to help at all.

"Dean said you didn't think I wanted to live here. That I didn't like you." He said, staring down at the table now. He fiddled with the fork and spoon at his seat. They'd picked seats their first night together.

Cas let out a breath of relief. He could answer that one. He nodded. "I was afraid you didn't want me in the picture."

"Were afraid? So you're not now, you don't think those things any more right?" He asked for confirmation with a furrowed brow.

Cas finished with the pasta and added the sauce. "Ben, baby, let's go talk in the other room alright? I've finished dinner; we just gotta wait on Dean now."

Ben followed Cas into the living room, and sat with him on the couch. "I don't think those things anymore." He said simply. "I was afraid that because you'd let Dean into your life so easily, that you'd have a problem with something else. Like, how I cooked, or how I wanted your room picked up, where I could at least see the floor, that you wouldn't like the things I picked out for you. That you wouldn't accept me like I accepted you into my heart."

Ben smiled. "You guys gave me a roof, and make me warm meals, and I had a birthday this year!" He said in disbelief. "You guys tell me good night before I fall asleep, and you know to leave the hallway light on and my door cracked because even though I'm 13 and a dude, I'm still kinda scared of the dark. Dean didn't make fun of me for that. You're always using pet names with me, and I like that. It makes me feel important." He elucidated. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked over at Cas. "It doesn't matter if you weren't there then. It matters that you love me, and you make sure I'm okay. The people before you never did that. They cared, but only enough to keep me alive. I have a home here. With them, it was just a house." He shrugged. "I could never thank you enough for letting me stay here. How could I not like you? You're an orphans dream of a family. The fact that Dean fought for me really made a difference in my heart. A few people wanted me, but they didn't care enough to stick around if somebody else tried too. Dean fought, until he was the last one standing in that court room, and now I'm here."

Cas bit his lip, and pulled him into a hug. "You're a good kid." He said, kissing his temple. "And I love you already, and I'll protect you, and keep the hall light on, and your door open just a smidgen, and I promise, I won't ever, ever let them take you away."

"I love you too." He said, tangling his arms around Cas.

PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS- I'm about out of ideas of where this could go, but so many of you have followed this story! What do YOU want to see happen next? :)