Cas woke up in a panic. The events that led up to being with Dean again had left him in such a strange state that he initially thought it had been a dream. In his stirring state, he sobbed silently and he mourned how unfair life was. But then he felt Dean's embrace and smelled his musk, and he finally heard his deep voice coo, "You okay?"

"It wasn't a dream," Cas sighed in relief.

"Almost lost you for good, but no, I'm here."

"Oh, Dean…"

Cas folded up into Dean's arms and smile, hugging him. Dean really was there. They were together. It was real and amazing and everything else wonderful that life can offer.

They kissed and kissed. Cas thought that the sensation of Dean's jaw, now covered in a beard that had sprung up in his attempted hibernation, was peculiarly intriguing. His hair wasn't the neat, short cut that he knew it as, either. Cas ran his fingers through it and Dean smiled against his lips.

It didn't take long for their movements to shift from gentle, sweet touches into the erotic dance of lovers. Their egg was moved to the side, still cradled safely in the nest, and then Dean toppled Cas and kissed him more. Their flesh was exposed as much as necessary and Cas slipped his legs around Dean's waist. Melting, aching together, Cas nuzzled into Dean's ear and whispered, "I missed this."

"You haven't mated with anyone else, right?" Dean asked, smirking. His ground his hips against Cas' rear, causing the beta to whinny.

"No, never."

"Good. You're mine and only mine."

Cas smiled greatly at Dean's protective sentiment. He latched onto his back and thrust into Dean's movements. His cock was hard and ready, rubbing against Cas' already sticky hole. They merged at last—the long awaited reunion that Cas had fantasized about day and night. Their moans were louder than ever as they worked their bodies into a sensual pretzel.

"Oh, Dean!" Cas cried, tensing his whole around the base of his shaft.

Dean grunted deeply, thrusting, humping, grinding and ramming against his lover. "I love you," he whispered.

"Oh, Dean, Dean!"

Cas' voice cracked as he squeezed Dean tightly, feeling his climax overtake him. He wiggled and shuddered at the feeling while his small cock dripped a thin liquid. As his nerves calmed, Dean pulled his cock out and ejaculated onto Cas' belly.

"Ah, that's—mmh—that's good."

"I can't believe we've finally mated again," Cas said with a breathy moan.

He opened his eyes finally and stared up at Dean, who was now sitting up but still touching Cas' body. The warmth of Dean's come on his flesh was comforting.

"Hope we never go this long without seeing each other again," said Dean.

They snuggled for a bit longer, but then they had to get on with their day. Full of smiles despite whatever journey lay ahead of them, Cas held his egg and left the makeshift shelter they had set up the night before. Dean came out and stretched, examining the surroundings as well.

"We should bathe," Cas suggested.

"Yeah, probably. The river?"

"I think so."

"You go first, I'll hold the baby—egg."

Cas smiled.

"Thank you."

He handed the egg off to his partner, then undressed and walked a few paces to the river. The level was still low and it was incredibly cold, but any kind of water was welcome. Dean watched him take his clothes off.

"Hey, what's that on your back?"

Cas craned his neck around and tried to look. There were, just as Charlie had predicted, small leopard-like spots dotted around his lower back and hip area. There appeared to be more on his shoulder blades but he couldn't see them as well. They were a deep cerulean.

"Oh!" Cas gasped. "Already?"

"Cas? What is that?"

Dean was clearly worried, but when Cas smiled it eased his tension.

"Part of the fairy magic. It means—oh, Dean!"

He forgot all about that!

"It means I have several more years of fertility!"

Dean just smiled, eyes wide, and nodded. It felt odd to Cas that he didn't press further, but they were both hungry and achy from their painful experiences yesterday and the days before, so he figured he planned on inquiring further later. After Cas washed, he dried off, dressed and then came back for his egg so that his mate could bathe.

Waist-deep in the river, Dean ran his fingers through his hair and watched Cas as he prepared food for them. He made a small fire and heated some vegetables he had picked in the forest.

"I want to make them before they go bad," he said.

Dean couldn't hear him too well at his distance.

"You look as good as ever!" he shouted to Cas.

"Huh?"

The beta glanced over to Dean innocently.

"What was that?"

Chuckling to himself, Dean dipped down into the river completely before stepping out, sopping wet and completely naked. His body was badly bruised and covered in wounds. They were healing well, but the sight was disheartening to Cas.

"I said, you look as good as ever."

"Do you think so? Because I feel incredibly worn out. The price was worth it, but still."

Cas' eyes fell to Dean's crotch. He watched as the river water beaded through his pubic hair.

"Did you pack scissors?" Dean asked as he went to the cart and began rummaging through bags. "Damn near brought everything else."

"Yes, your pair is in there."

"Razor?"

Cas shook his head. He kept stirring the tiny pot over the fire.

"I didn't think to. I was in such a hurry, I'm sorry…"

"Shh, stop. It's fine. I'm not mad."

Upon finding his scissors, Dean took a seat on the ground beside Cas and began trimming his beard down. It was difficult to do by himself, but clearly he had done it before.

"Hope you don't mind me with some hair still on my face."

Cas chuckled.

"Why would I mind?"

"Dunno."

"I like you no matter what."

The food was soon ready and they shared a bowl, since Cas had only packed one. Now that he was feeding two (Charlie barely counted) he realized how little supplies he had with him.

"So, tell me more about these fairies," Dean said with his mouth full of potato. "They exist after all, huh?"

"Yes," Cas nodded. "Did you hear about them ever? I had no idea. They live in this forest to the west. They're…interesting creatures."

"Ha! I bet."

"No, listen—they think that one egg is lucky. They called it the 'miracle egg' and made a huge party around it just for me. Who would have thought?"

Dean seemed impressed. He slurped up a long mushroom and stared out at the river. "Damn…"

"They were incredibly friendly! They gave me gold, Dean, gold!"

"Gold?! Are you serious?!"

"Yes, look!"

Cas carefully leaned over to the cart and groped around for the pieces of gold. When he showed them to Dean, he spit out the mouthful of soup he had.

"Holy shit, Cas!" Dean gasped. He took a piece with great care. "This is some serious loot!"

"And it's ours, now!"

"Damn! We're set!" he laughed. "We can go anywhere! Do anything!"

"Perhaps," Cas smirked. He took the gold back and put it away safely, then touched the egg on his chest. "But there are better things than gold, right?"

"'Course," said Dean. He cocked his head to the side, smirking. "Those spots on you…more years of fertility…how'd they do that, anyway?"

"Fairy magic," Cas said with a knowing wink. He took a big chunk of carrot and nudged his knee against Dean's. "Now we can have another clutch, or two—or three!"

Dean flushed.

"Wow, well, let's think about it first. We need to settle down somewhere. Did they tell you what state my pack is in?"

"I'm not sure. A small town, that's what Meg said. And also that Cain…Cain isn't well. She's probably at the city of Lawrence now."

Dean said nothing. He finished his food and sucked his teeth, breathing steadily. He was deep in thought.

After Cas washed out all of their dishes and went to pack up, he noticed that Dean was still sitting, staring, thinking…

"Dean, my love?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the matter?"

The alpha took a deep breath and stood up.

"Just thinking about our lives, you know. I wonder if going back to the pack is the right thing."

"Of course it is," Cas told him, cradling the egg. "They want us back. It's a good place to raise our child, or children."

Dean smiled just a bit.

"That's true," he said, "But then what? They've definitely merged with another pack, or maybe even a herd."

"Oh, Dean, we're only two people. If we don't go back to the pack, we'll have to merge, too. What do you suppose we do?"

"The city of Lawrence? What if we go there?"

Cas opened his eyes wide. He made sure that the egg was secure and stepped close to his mate.

"But neither of us have been to a city before, right?"

"No," Dean said.

"We don't know what to expect."

"But we've got all that gold. We can take it to the city. We can probably buy a damn house down there with it! Shit—does it work that way?"

Cas laughed politely.

"Dean, I don't know. I haven't been there, I just told you."

"Then we should try. What's the worst that can happen?"

Cas pondered his meeting with the guards before he found Dean. They were stern and strict, yet caring and very warm. Maybe it would be worth it to check out Lawrence. Sure, it was further away from Dean's pack, but they might even run into Meg working on that potion. If that was the case, they could just follow her home.

"All right," Cas agreed. "Let's head to the city of Lawrence."