Chapter 18

Dean

I really love watching my wife undress. The arch of her back, the curve of her hips…the way she glances at herself in the mirror. Her hair is long; the bleach blonde ends dance barely above the waistline of her jeans. She reaches up and pulls her hair into a ponytail at the top of her head and lets her jeans drop to the floor. From my position on the bed, pretending to read important paperwork from the shop about transferring my name to the deed, I continue to stare.

Grace has been hesitant to touch The Mark since discovering that her aging process has slowed. I haven't felt much of a difference, considering, but I think it's just being around her and having physical contact with her on a regular basis that keeps it in check. From the mirror, she noticed my stare and turned around, in nothing but her panties and bra. Smiling and walking closer to me, she climbed up onto the bed and straddled my legs, leaning towards me, and let her hair fall into my face. I tilted my head and smiled lightly at her; inhaling her sweet scent as she got closer, teasing. Leaning back and resting lightly on my thighs, she took the stack of paperwork from my hands and gently tossed it to the ground. "I was reading that," I said, staring into those baby blues.

"Not anymore," she replied. Slowly, she leaned in to kiss me, tender and loving. I can't help myself. I cupped her face with my hands and pulled her closer.

We spent a good five minutes making out on the bed, but then, as if he could sense me too close to his mother, Everett's voice came through the baby monitor, crying pathetically. "Oh come on," I said, as Grace broke contact. "Every time."

Grace chuckled and nodded. "He can probably hear you or something."

"What, like you? Another psychic in the house?"

"God, I hope not," Grace mumbled as she stood, intending to get Rhett. Waiting and listening, she paused at the foot of the bed and almost immediately, he settled down. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. She smiled lightly and mockingly made a big deal about coming closer to me again. As if on cue, Everett wailed again as she touched my shoulder. "Holy shit."

"Are you kidding? He's six months old! How can he be that sensitive already?"

Shaking her head, Grace backed away from me again and closed her eyes, concentrating. She waited until he had stopped fussing and moved closer to me once more, resting her hand on my shoulder and waiting. Nothing.

"What changed?" I asked, almost whispering.

She shook her head, still with her eyes closed. "I soothed him. I told him it was time to sleep and that we get some time together now. His turn with me is in the morning."

"You told him all that," I said, my voice full of sarcastic doubt.

She made a face and shrugged. "Whatever, he's not crying. Stop wasting time." I grinned, reaching out for her waist and pulling her down into my lap. She unbuttoned my shirt while we kissed, trying to pull it off without backing away. I managed to pull my arms out of the sleeves and take off my undershirt and we froze when we heard knocking coming from inside our bedroom.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked, backing away from Grace and glancing around.

She turned, listening, and smiled broadly. "It's Cas."

"Where?"

"I'm in the bathroom," Castiel's voice came from behind the semi-closed door. "I remembered this time: knocking. Doors. Privacy."

Sighing, I shook my head. Grace giggled and rolled off my lap, landing on her side of the bed and wrapping herself in her robe. "At least he's learning," she said, grinning at me.

"That might be," I began, pulling my shirt back over my head, "but at this point, I'm never gonna get laid again." She smiled broadly again and I rolled my eyes. "I'm glad you're so upbeat about the whole thing," I said under my breath. Cas knocked again from the bathroom. "What, Cas?"

The bathroom door opened and Cas walked into the room, stoic as ever. "If you fornicate tonight, Grace will get pregnant again."

I glanced at my wife and shook my head. "Don't touch me," I said, getting up from the bed. I walked over to the rocker in the corner of the room and plopped down into it, eyeing Grace. "How do you know that, Cas? You keeping her ovulation chart next to your bed?"

Cas tilted his head in the childlike way that he had mastered so many years ago and furrowed his eyebrows. "I have no bed."

Closing my eyes, I shook my head. "Forget it," I said, rubbing my face, "how do you know she'll get knocked up?"

Grace turned to stare at the angel. She had a look on her face that suggested that she already knew the information that she was hearing. Glancing at me, she lifted her eyebrows. "I could feel it too," she said quietly. "It's why I was looking in the mirror. I knew something happened, but I couldn't tell what."

They both looked at me then, and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the minute. I knew he was an angel and had no connection to the words that he was saying, but hearing him say things like 'fornicate' and 'pregnant' made me look at him differently. It's like he knew too much about my wife. Maybe more than me. Grace turned to stare at me and shook her head. "It's not that he knows more than you about me," she said, approaching me in the chair. "He just understands how the human side to my body works more than I do. I told him after Glory and Rhett were born to tell me if we were about to get pregnant again. I didn't know how else to avoid it."

"I've been paying attention to her body's cycle," he continued.

I held up my hands, palms out, and shook my head. "Stop. Stop." Cas stared at me, his eyes wide. "Look, I don't want to know. I don't need to know. Just do what you did: show up in our bedroom, kill the mood, and don't let her get knocked up again."

Cas seemed content with this and turned towards Grace. "You should probably restrain for the next three days or so."

"Let's give it four, just to be safe," Grace smiled as he walked out of the bedroom, towards the kids' rooms.

"Don't wake them up, man," I said under my breath. "For the love of God, stay out of Everett's room." Cas nodded as he continued down the hall to check on my babies. I stared at Grace and shook my head, pressing my lips together. "Well, that's the end of that."

Grace sat on the edge of the bed, smiling and tilting her head. "At least we won't have four."

"Yeah. You know, I've got a couple condoms in my drawer."

She made a face. "Do you really want to risk it?" Pursing my lips, I leaned forward, seriously considering it. "Go take a cold shower, Winchester," she said, letting her hair down and climbing into bed.

I sighed and got undressed. Cold shower, it is.