Author's Note: Sorry for the late update guys! Work stuff held me up, but I still have this chapter for you! Enjoy!
Dean was completely shocked and awed by what he saw. When the surprise wore off, he looked at his Daddy in confusion.
"This is for me?" He asked. Castiel smiled at him.
"Of course. It's your day, baby boy."
"I didn't know it was today."
"I know. I wanted to surprise you."
"Why did you let me forget?"
"I thought you knew."
Dean shook his head. Castiel chuckled. "Well now you know." He set Dean on his feet so that he could say hello to his guests.
Bobby gave him a hug and wished him a happy birthday. Claire said hello and did the same. Dean smiled and went over to Chuck, who was grinning idiotically.
"Grandpa, was this your idea?"
Chuck laughed. "You caught me! Happy Birthday, Dean."
He turned back to Ellen, Jo, Gabriel, and Sam.
"Did Daddy tell all you guys, too?"
"Everyone except for Sammy here." Said Gabriel. Dean looked over at his brother.
"Daddy doesn't think I can keep a secret." Sam murmured, disgruntled.
"I think you can keep a secret, just not from your brother." Said Gabriel, ruffling Sam's hair. Sam pouted and playfully swatted Gabriel's hand away. Dean grinned at their antics. Then, he turned back to Castiel.
"Now what?"
"Well what do you want to do, baby? It's your day."
Dean's eyes sparkled mischievously. Whatever he wanted? Hmmm...
"Can we go outside?"
"Of course."
Dean looked at Sam, who smirked at him.
"Wanna race?"
"You're on!"
The two of them ran from the foyer out to the backyard. When they got outside, they stopped dead in their tracks. They were stunned. The entire patio was full of food, and there was a giant bounce house in the yard. Dean was torn between which he wanted to explore first, but for Sam it was an easy choice. Since he already had his snack, he ran straight for the bounce house. Although he had recently gotten sick, Dean stayed to look at the food. There were bacon cheeseburgers, fries, beer, scotch, and pie. More pie than he had ever seen in one place. Daddy and Grandpa really had thought of everything. When he was satisfied with the food choices, he ran to join his brother in the bounce house.
Everyone else filed out onto the patio, grabbing drinks and taking a seat on the lounge chairs. They made small talk with one another, occasionally glancing over at the bounce house where the brothers were playing. They spent a good half hour jumping around in that bounce house before coming out and sitting with everyone else. The two of them had juice instead of beer, courtesy of their fathers, and talked with everyone about current events.
Dean had never felt so at home. Cocooned within the bosom of his friends and family, he was surrounded by people who loved and cared about him. He had always known that people had cared; how else would he have been able to complete so many hunts? But to see them all gather in one place and know that they were all here for him was astounding. He looked over at his Daddy, who was sitting with Uncle Gabe and Grandpa. If Daddy hadn't done all this for him, none of this would have happened. He felt a warmness in his chest that he didn't have words for. He got up from his chair before going over to Castiel and giving him a tight hug.
"I love you, Daddy." He whispered into his ear. Castiel was only too happy to return the hug.
"I love you too, baby boy."
Gabriel and Chuck smiled at one another.
It was in that moment that Dean was struck with a brilliant idea. He ran over to his Grandpa and tugged on his shirt sleeve. Chuck looked over at him.
"Grandpa, can you come with me? I wanna tell you a secret."
"Sure." He let Dean lead him inside. He made sure the sliding glass door to the backyard was completely shut before taking Chuck back into the foyer, just to make sure no one could hear him.
"You can give me anything I want for my birthday, right?"
"Within reason, yes."
Dean leaned up to whisper something in his ear. When he finished, he leaned back.
"Can you do that instead of a birthday present?"
"Is that really what you want?" Dean nodded. Chuck smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're doing a good thing, kid. I don't know how I didn't think of doing that before."
"I'm sure you would have thought of it eventually."
"Well in any event, you're doing a wonderful thing. Now come on, let's get you back to your party before your Daddy sends out a search party."
Dean giggled and followed his grandpa to the backyard.
While they were gone, everyone had pushed the tables together and rearranged their seats to make one large table with the food in the center. Dean took his seat at the head of the table, his Daddy and Sam flanking his sides. Castiel slid a plate in front of him. There was a burger, fries, and a cup of what smelled like apple juice. Dean pouted at his Daddy's choice of drink, but Castiel wouldn't have it. He had already had a beer earlier. Now he needed something healthier to drink. Castiel rubbed his back soothingly and Dean instantly relaxed.
The lot of them ate and ate of the burgers and fries until they couldn't anymore. They all shared stories of hunting, some challenging, some funny, but all fun. Dean leaned back in his chair, happy with his lot in life. These were his friends and family. He loved each of them dearly for different reasons, but all of them loved him in turn. That was something he was still trying to understand, but the events that had happened so far today had put him well on his way to getting the message. This was exactly where he was supposed to be.