Chapter 7

A few years later…

Dean lay in his bed at his home. He looked up at the ceiling and thought of the last few years and what had happened since they'd been taken by John Winchester from Harvelle's Pet Shop. Dean was seven years old in human terms now and Sam was five. Dean and Sam had been given a nice home with three square meals a day, unlimited sleep and television time, hot showers (which Dean had learned to enjoy so greatly), but something was still missing…

Castiel…

Dean had gone through three heats so far since he'd arrived, but luckily John had been well prepared to house Alpha angels as well as Omegas. Dean had been washing his face one time a month before, trying to rid himself of the heat when he noticed a few things laid out on the countertop: Heat Suppressants, a whole package of them, and a few…toys. Dean picked one up and stared at it, blushing, he put it back down and picked up the note John had wrote.

I figured you'd need things like these for when you went into heat and no one was around. When you get older, like eighteen years old, you can go to the big boy Alpha places if you so desire, but until then I bought you a few toys too. Just put a sock on the door handle if you need privacy and I won't come in. -John

Dean didn't use the toys the first time, he went on the suppressants, but afterwards he'd started using them every time he went into heat. He'd imagine it was Castiel, crawling all over him, touching him everywhere and eventually he'd end up knotting with the toy and satisfying the urges of the heat for another day, but the reality of it all was that Dean was missing Castiel. It wasn't even just the heats. His heart was almost calling out to Castiel as well.

As Dean lay on the bed he sighed. He heard a soft knock on the door and it opened to reveal John. The man who had taken him in was getting older now as the years had come and went, but his smile had never faded. He'd been kind to Dean and Sam; he'd been almost like a father to them.

"Dinner time Dean," John said. "I made your favorite, burgers."

"Thanks John." Dean felt strange calling him "dad". Sam did, but Sam was a bit younger so it was to be expected almost.

"Don't take too long getting down there ok?" John said and shut the door behind him. Dean sighed contently and rolled off the bed, walking to the bathroom to wash his hands. He looked over at the picture on his desk of him and Castiel, smiling and laughing. Bobby, Castiel's new caregiver had taken it a week prior to that day. Dean picked it up, smiling a moment, and then he walked to the bathroom, washed his hands and went downstairs for food.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"C'mon Gabey let's go play!" Castiel called out from his bed in the room that was Gabriel's. Gabriel chuckled, but rolled his eyes. He sometimes forgot that Castiel was still a little bit younger than him. Gabriel closed his math book and spun his chair around to face his younger brother who was bouncing excitedly, a big mess of black hair on his head and a smile on his face, on the bed in the corner.

"Cassie kiddo," Gabriel laughed. "I'm trying to read."

"I know," Castiel sighed and plopped down on the pillow. "It's just that you and Dean are always busy!"

Castiel let out a drawn out groan and rolled around on the bed a bit, his hair getting messed up even more. Gabriel sat behind him and rubbed his back until his wings materialized. As angels got older they could hide their wings in a mass of celestial light that was stored in their backs. It was a difficult process to explain to humans, but it was one of the most amazing things about angels.

"You miss Dean don't you?" Gabriel asked, fixing a few of Castiel's feathers that he couldn't reach that were messed up. Castiel stared in wonder at Gabriel's wings which the elder archangel liked to keep out in the comfort of his own room. Gabriel's wings were golden like the sun and Castiel loved them to death. Gabriel let out a grunt when Castiel plucked one of his feathers and stared at it in amazement.

"Ok kiddo, don't do that," Gabriel laughed and ruffled Castiel's hair. "I kinda need those."

Gabriel thought about taking the feather back, but then he determined Castiel could just keep it. Castiel's oil glands were just starting to form, which would mean puberty for Gabriel's younger brother. Gabriel's oil glands had already grown in, but he'd yet to go through his first heat. Archangels typically did not have as many heats as regular angels, but they still came with a vengeance when they did have one. Either way Gabriel was prepared with some toys Bobby had bought both him and Castiel and with Heat Suppressants if he needed them.

"Go to bed Cassie," Gabriel kissed the top of his brother's head. "Besides I think daddy is waiting on you."

Gabriel smiled up at Bobby who was in the hallway, waiting for little Castiel in his footie pajamas to come to him so he could put him to bed. Castiel ran into Bobby's arms and Bobby bounced him up onto his shoulders with a smile. Castiel nuzzled Bobby's cheek and closed his eyes, sighing contently. Gabriel smiled at the sight and nodded at Bobby.

Bobby had been the best thing to happen to them. Gabriel and Castiel had been left for dead before he came along and Gabriel would've been left to raise his little brother alone, or worse, send him to the Angel Pound.

The Angel Pounds were notoriously ruthless to angels, especially if an angel acted hostile in any way. They'd muzzle them, they'd do supposed horrible things to them, but once again Gabriel decided that those could just be rumors. Either way he was glad he'd never have to see the walls of that place.

He watched until Castiel disappeared down the hall, wrapped carefully in Bobby's arms, then turned back to the book he'd been reading before.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Smoke, smoke and…fire?! That was all Dean could see in his house. He'd reached for his light in the middle of the night when he'd noticed the heat, but he'd not needed it. The flames had already risen above his head and the doorframe, at least the ones in the hallway. Dean's little eyes burned, he coughed so hard it almost turned into a squeaking sound and he nervously flapped his wings until he decided it was best not to have them out. He quickly sheathed them and looked around his room. In a split second he grabbed the necklace on the side table that John had given him and wrapped it around his neck before fighting his way into the hallway, coughing and sputtering.

"D-ean!" Sam's little voiced called out and Sam ran into Dean, coughing and crying. "W-Where's dad?!"

"I don't know Sammy!" Dean coughed so hard he thought his little lungs might explode. Dean spun around and took Sam's hand. "C'mon!"

He and Sam trekked past the flames, they had to crawl at one point because of the smoke, but they quickly stood back up when they heard a familiar voice.

"Dean, Sammy is that you?" John choked on the smoke and embers and reached through the crack in the door.

"D-Dad…." It was the first time Dean had ever called John, dad.

"Go Dean," John yelled. "I don't know how much longer the ceiling can hold out!"

"I'm not leaving you, dad!" Dean screamed over the crackle of the flames and tried with all his little might to pull the door open. He tried using his angelic strength, but he had no such luck that way either.

"Dean take your brother and go!" John yelled over the sound of burning wood.

"B-But…" Dean's eyes were filled to the brim with tears as John's calloused hand touched his for a mere moment through all the chaos, confusion, and heat.

"I love you both," Dean could see John's eyes through the crack of the door that just wouldn't open far enough, they were filled with tears. "Now! Go!"

It all happened so fast after that, Dean felt himself being lifted off the floor by a very tall man in a yellow suit and a mask, Sam too. The man seemed to not notice John. Dean tried to tell him, but his cries fell on deaf ears, the poor little angel could barely talk from all the smoke he'd inhaled. He looked back at his father who slinked his hand in from the crack in the door and Dean could've sworn he heard him choke.

"Be brave Dean." John had always told him. Even now, Dean could've sworn that he heard John say it one last time.

The man in the yellow suit yelled to another man matching him. They suddenly took off running and Dean saw the burning ceiling collapse down in front of the door crack where John had once been. Dean clutched the necklace around his neck tight and let the tears fall.

Next thing Dean and Sam knew, they were outside, funny looking masks were being pushed up to their faces and blankets were wrapped around them. The man in the yellow suit had removed his helmet and had started petting Dean on the head gently, whispering to him that "he was ok" and that "everything was going to be ok".

But everything was not going to be ok, not anymore and Dean knew that. Dean looked over, eyes full of soot and ash, but he could still see the remnants of what had once been his home, his brother's home, John's home.

John…surely he wasn't…?

"How's it looking Steve," the man in the yellow suit holding Dean looked up at his partner, who held a grim look on his face. "Anyone else in there?"

"We found a body…" the man, Steve, replied after removing his hat. "The owner of the property, he didn't make it."

Dean let out a tiny yowl as he cried and the man in the yellow suit tried his best to soothe him. Dean refused to even look over at the charred remains of the house. He just buried his face into the man in the big yellow suits' chest and cried endlessly.

"Whatcha reckon we do with them?" Steve asked the man holding Dean, Dean noticed Steve was now holding Sam who looked equally as worn out.

"They were just his pets," Steve said. "Angel Pound is the only place I can think of."

"We weren't his pets," Dean growled a little. "We were so much more than that."

"I'll take em there," Steve said, reaching his arms out for Dean. "C'mere little guy."

Dean glared at Steve, the man who'd called him a "pet", and then Dean did something totally out of character.

He bit him; bit him right across his hand, drawing blood and everything. Steve yelped and glared right back at Dean.

"We'll have to warn them about you won't we?" Steve said and set forth towards the fire truck, Dean and Sam in his arms and Dean's eyes locked on the smoking pile of wood that now lay behind him and the unmistakable black as night, body bag that was clearly full.

Then Dean cried again.

Read and Reviews are always appreciated, read, and encouraged! :D

OMFG JOHN IS DEAD?! House fire too, sort of ironic in a way isn't it? Ok I'll stop being John Green for now.

What will happen to Sam and Dean now though? They're headed for…*gasp* the Angel Pound!

Will Bobby ever find out?

More to come soon!