AN: Thanks again for all of the support. Enjoy.
Thursday morning was going to be rough. Cas was already making plans to leave early since he had stayed quite late the night before. His sleep last night was not enough. He ended up getting up at dawn and decided to go in early in order to further justify the early departure. He strolled through the empty building toward his office. He could see on the other side of the office the light that was coming from Sam's office and also from Uriel's. He opened his door and stepped in. The room was not empty. Sam was at his desk reading through the files that M had left behind.
"Hey Sammy. What are you doing?" Cas looked at Sam with concern.
"Oh, hey Cas. I didn't think that you would be in for a bit. I just wanted to get a jump on the reading." Sam stood up then and wandered over to the other side of the desk.
"Hmm, did you learn anything important?" Cas took the spot that Sam had been sitting in behind his desk. Sam seemed to be making his way out the door.
"Nah, just a lot of the same old stuff. It was good to know what was in there though." Sam was at the door now. "I'm going to head back to my office. I have R showing up later. She emailed last night to schedule."
'Okay, so I'll get info. from you later then?" Cas tossed out as Sam was leaving.
"Yeah, I'll report out later."
M showed up a couple of hours later with a kid in tow. "Hey Cas. She walked in with a quick step. She plopped her large satchel on the couch and directed the child to have a seat. "This is Lil. Try not to swear too much. She doesn't like to hear all that coarse language that I know you like to use."
"Well, hello to you too M." Cas got up and walked over to the couch. He crouched down so that he was at eye level with Lil. 'Hello, Lil. It is very nice to meet you." He reached out a hand and she shook it with her small fingers gripping tight. She looked nothing like M at first glance. Her hair was golden blonde and she was pale in a way that was almost ethereal. "Will she be staying with us today?" He directed the question to M, but Lil answered.
"Mom said that the sitter is not coming back again so I have to come here with her."
"It is hard to find good help. I'll explain later. Or actually, I won't. Boring. So, we might have to make today short. I did see that R was already over in Sam's office. So you should have plenty to go over even if I don't stay.
Cas looked back at Lil, "Would you like paper and pens for drawing? I have no good artwork in here. You could make me something."
She beamed at him and nodded. "Do you have scissors too?"
"I do." He got up then and went to his desk. He rummaged around for a bit and came up with the necessary items. "Here you go." He turned back to M and said, "Well, let's get to it."
The time passed amicably that day, and despite all of Cas' plans to leave early, he stayed. The child offered a layer of comfort to the day's proceedings that he had not anticipated.
Occasionally he would look over at her and smile. Once he made a tiny ball of paper that he flicked over at her. When the paper landed on her, he quickly, and obviously, pretended to look up at the ceiling as if to say 'Wasn't me.' She giggled at him when he did this. He smiled at her and kept on working until he felt a little pop of paper snap at his shoulder. When he looked over at her she was staring off at the ceiling like he had. M had viewed the whole thing with a pleased expression. "You ever want kids of your own, Cas?"
"Hadn't really thought of it," he said.
"Really?" She looked like she didn't believe him.
"Well, it isn't like it would be simple for me, for many reasons. I've been single for some time and I also don't have much free time. Childrearing, as I've been told, takes a considerable amount of time if it is done correctly.'
"Hmm, true. Sometimes I think that the people best suited to parenthood over think it too much and sometimes miss their opportunity. I hope that you won't be one of those people, Cas." She slid over another folder for him to review. "Does Dean like children?" She asked casually.
"I don't know. I think so. He practically raised Sam, from what I understand." He got up and stretched out toward the ceiling. He walked over to the couch and plopped down in the seat next to Lil. "So, Lil, tell me something awesome about your mom."
M looked back at her daughter and noticeably suppressed her concerned expression. Lil then said, "She's a really good singer. She sings to me every night."
"Oh, really? What does she sing?" He saw M get up now and start gathering the files. Clearly she was done with this little interaction.
"We always sing our songs. Even when she is taking her medicine, she sings to me. Says it makes it better."
Cas looked over at M now. She was avoiding his gaze. "Come on Lil. Time to go."
Lil handed Cas her artwork. "Here. For your wall." He reached out and took it. It was a drawing of her mom at the table next to Cas. He could only tell that it was them because of the table and the color of the clothing.
"What is that?" He asked her as he pointed to a spot on his character's stomach.
"Your belly button, silly." She laughed at him.
"You can't see my belly button." He looked down at his tucked in white dress shirt, and pressed his hands to his stomach. He turned his expression into something kind of silly.
"So." She looked at him like he was strange. "You still have a belly button."
"Seriously, Cas, just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there. Now let my daughter and I go. We have entertained you enough this morning." She smiled at him and directed Lil toward the door. As they were leaving, Lil left her mother's side and came back over to Cas. She gave him a quick hug and then bounded out the door. And in that one moment he was smitten. Maybe he could imagine having a kid. It wouldn't be so bad having someone that thought you hung the moon. He decided then, to go home while he could. It felt like a good way to end the day.
Review, Fav., Follow. I love all of those little guesses you all keep throwing out. I also just love the enthusiasm. Thanks so much. You are just a couple of chapters away from a lot of cuteness and mysteries solved. Weekend chapters are the most fun.