Castiel enjoyed his time at the zoo, and if the smile on Ben's face were anything to go by, he imagined it was quite fun for him as well. They were excited to get back to Morgan though. Cas pulled up the long dusty drive, as the gravel turned beneath the spinning rubber his heart gave a little tug. He knew it would be the last time he'd see Morgan for a little while and he wasn't sure he could handle the separation. He had come to terms with leaving on his own, but it was difficult, and apparently his body was trying to tell him it wasn't going to get any easier. They stepped inside and were instantly greeted by a grinning Missouri.

"Well hi there, come have a seat."

They smiled back at her and exchanged greetings, and how are yous, but once the initial polite conversation was finished Castiel looked around unable to control himself. He didn't see Morgan, so that meant she was undoubtedly sleeping, which only saddened him further. He loved talking to Missouri, the woman was fascinating to say the least. He just couldn't help but be disappointed that there were precious minutes that he wasn't spending with the beautiful Angel.

"Sug, go on and get her, ain't no sense in letting it eat you up like that."

"I don't think I should wake her.." Even Ben could see the disappointment on Castiel's face. He obviously was not fooling anyone, but it didn't hurt to try to be polite.

Missouri just shook her head and walked back to the Nursery, picked the pink bundle up gently and carried her straight to Castiel's arms. He smiled as she slowly lulled herself back to sleep. It felt so right having her there, close to him, he'd gotten used to seeing her every day. Now being confronted with the reality of that changing, had him severely on edge.

When Morgan woke up Castiel let Ben hold her for a little bit, he'd been incredibly well behaved considering he'd not been to see Maple yet. He quickly warned the bottle and checked it against his wrist before letting Ben ease it against the tiny mouth. Morgan was almost big enough to hold the bottle by herself, she just needed a little help when it fell to the side. Sometimes Cas felt like the six year old was more capable of handling the baby than he was, but Dean was very persistent in reassuring him that it was just first time dad jitters, and that he'd experienced them with been until he was nearly three years old, and even still sometimes.

Pretty soon an hour had passed and Castiel regrettably passed the baby girl off to Missouri, so his hands would be free to help Ben take care of the horses. He worked diligently doing his best not to let the thundercloud over his day get to be too much. The last thing he wanted was to leave everyone he loved with poor grumpy memories of him. He smiled as he saw Ben's loving touch against the long mane of the growing foal. He could enjoy this, even if it was going to be a long two weeks, he could certainly make room for this kind of happiness. Watching Ben's tender smile, seeing Maple lean into him just as excitedly, and even feeling the precious baby girl in his arms. There were many things in this world to be upset about, these were none of them.

With a much healthier attitude he climbed the porch to Missouri's front door and let himself inside. He washed himself off before he picked her up from the small vibrating bouncing chair. He held her close and kissed her forehead before tickling a smile out of her. She laughed a little when he blew a raspberry against her belly and he thought this was what he'd needed. That one small sound, just enough to get him through however long his trip would be, something just for him.

They left in just enough time to get back to the house and get cleaned up before having to drive to Topeka, for Gabe's dinner. He rushed himself through the shower and then helped Ben make sure his hair was rinsed completely, he was big enough to bathe himself but if you didn't watch closely he'd get out with soap suds still in his hair. Cas dropped Ben off with Mary for the night and swung by to pick Dean up at the shop and then hit the interstate.

The house was full when they got there, his old dining room full of serving platters and all three common rooms full of people. Gabriel was there along with Joanna, who worked at the bakery. Becky, Michael, and Rachel were there,in Livvy's absence they knew they'd made the right choice in not bringing Ben. Anna and Ryan were even toddler free for the evening, though their children were just next door with Anna's mother.

Castiel had tried repeatedly to sneak out to the back patio, but he'd been redirected and averted every chance he'd got. They were completely done with dinner and ready to leave before he finally pulled away from the group. His fingers pulled slightly against the handle of the sliding glass, but it wouldn't budge. Gabriel never locked the back door, ,just as he hadn't, which only made him more curious.
"Gabe why is the door locked?"

"What Cassie?"

"I said, WHY is the back door locked."

Gabriel doing his best to think on his feet, it wasn't easy he'd been entertaining all night and it had taken it out of him.

"I didn't know if Anna was going to bring the little ones, so I locked the door, no biggie Castiel." Shew good save he thought to himself.

"Oh, I suppose that was good foresight. I'd like to see my garden before I leave though, would you mind giving me the key?"

Well Gabriel assumed Castiel wasn't going to leave without a look into his back yard. So he was slightly prepared for it, thankfully.

"Sure the key's in the key bowl."

Castiel walked away and began searching through the dish where his brother kept all his keys, and it was nowhere to be seen. He looked at his watch and realized they'd already stayed twenty minutes longer than he'd wanted, he was going to have to give up and go home. Dean came over as soon as he saw the frown forming on his husbands face.

"What's wrong angel?"

"I wanted to have a look at the garden before we left but my brother has locked the door and I cannot find the key."

"Come on, I'll get you out there."

Dean grabbed his hand and snuck him back to the kitchen, both of them acting as if they were CIA operatives or something. Dean took his license out of his wallet and slid the thin plastic between the metal frame and the lock, effectively swiping it open. When the porch light came on and illuminated the empty grass, Castiel nearly passed out.

"How, why, how could he do this to me?"

Dean pulled him closer, doing his best not to point out that it was in fact Gabriel's backyard now. Instead opting to soothingly rub his fingers down Cas' back.

"Shh it's okay Angel, lets just go home we'll talk to him about it tomorrow before you leave okay?"

"Yes just take me home Dean." he said with a small tear in the corner of his eye.

They didn't even say goodbye to Gabriel, it might have been rude, but Dean wasn't sure either of them could keep it civil, despite how invalid their arguments. The trip home was longer than usual, Castiel curled up into Dean's side from the moment they got into the car. He knew it was silly to get so emotional over something that wasn't even his anymore, but he couldn't help feeling betrayed.

When the it was only Anna, and Ryan left, that's when Gabriel noticed Dean and Castiel had already gone. He shrugged it off, thinking maybe they were just tired, or at least that's what he thought until he saw his sliding glass door jimmied open.

"Well shit."

He picked up his phone, first trying Castiel's cell, and then Dean's.

"Hello?"

"Dean! He saw the backyard didnt he?" Gabriel was hoping that Castiel had already enjoyed the surprise.

"Yeah, Gabe.. Why didn't you just tell him you were gonna change it all?" Dean spoke much quieter this time.

"NO! YOUR BACKYARD!"

"What's wrong with my backyard, and so help me jesus Gabriel if this is some sort of innuendo I will stab you in the face."

"Dean just take him outside, God!"

Dean grabbed Castiel by the hand still holding his phone in the other and pulled him toward the kitchen he opened their French Doors and both men stood mouths open wide enough to catch flies. The whole place was covered in beautiful plants with familiar benches and stone walkways. It wasn't the same layout as before, he'd pushed everything off to the sides,so Ben would still have plenty of room to play. The only exception being a large rectangle surrounding the wooden deck.

"Thanks Gabe, really, thank you." Dean said before clicking his phone shut."

So it didn't get the laugh he wanted, at least he knew his brother was happy at the moment and to him that meant more than anything.

They drove to the airport early the next morning, Ben was still half asleep when they pulled into the parking area, Dean woke him up and grabbed breakfast from the McDonald's next door while Castiel got everything inside worked out. They spent the next hour eating and doing their best not to get emotional. Logically it was only two weeks at most, and really could have been worse, but that was more time than they'd spent apart since their relationship began the second time around.

The announcer spoke his flight number over the intercom and they hugged and kissed their goodbyes, see you soons, I love yous, and I love you mores. As Castiel took his seat he could feel the longing in his heart already, but it would go quickly, he just had to keep telling himself that and he'd be fine. He'd throw himself into his work and before he knew it, he'd be back at home in the loving arms of his husband, with Ben and Morgan close by.

As soon as he landed in L.A. he texted Dean to let him know he was safe, and then found a taxi before checking his missed texts.

"Good, sheww I hate planes."-D

"Babe where's Ben's ball glove?"-D

"Nevermind he found it, I'd be lost without you, Love you baby"-D

Castiel smiled when he realized how true that was, sure Dean and Ben would make it without him they had for five years, but it was nice to feel needed.

"Glad you found it, Love you more"-Angel

"I miss you already, hopefully they'll have things ready for me and I can come home soon"-Ange

"Call me before I go to sleep tonight, miss your voice."-D

Castiel smiled when he got that last text, well truthfully he smiled at every single one, but maybe a little brighter on the most recent. He smiled trying to enjoy the view of the new city as he awaited his destination. There were some beautiful things about California, and it was much more metropolitan scene than even Topeka had provided.