Cas rushed the egg back into their house. He sat down into the nest with it and Dean joined him. A few people, Charlie included, joined them, watching expectantly.

"Help it," Jo said.

Cas nodded and began to peel down the shell as the little fist attempted to do so. Bit by bit did it fall away, slowly revealing a little baby.

"Goodness," Cas said in a soft voice.

Shell fragments littered his lap. Dean put his arm around his shoulders and they huddled close. The baby curled up with ease in Cas' lap, tensing its fists but staying silent. Cas separated the legs to see a penis and testicles. "An alpha male," he said with great relief. He looked at Dean, nearly crying, and repeated "An alpha male!"

The couple kissed briefly. Charlie said something congratulatory. Seeing the baby's lips wobble, Cas thought he would pick him up and offer a drink at his small breast, but when he turned the infant over, something startled him.

"What is that?!"

At the baby's shoulder blades sat two folded appendages. They had points sticking out from them. Cas looked at Dean but they were speechless.

"A defect?" someone watching asked.

"No!" Charlie's voice broke the tension. She ran up to the nest and sat down, keeping her own eggs safe in the basket. "Those are wings! Like a bird!"

Cas gasped softly. "Or an angel," he muttered.

Dean groaned, "No! It can't be! Tell me it ain't so!"

"Do you realize what this means?" Charlie asked the couple, her eyes wide. He looked down at the infant, who was now latching onto Cas' nipple with ease, and smiled.

"It means everything in the whole fucking world is dependent on me or my family!" Dean shouted. He put his hand over his face.

"No, no," Charlie said, trying to calm Dean down. "It means good things. A new era of peace. This is the first sign, don't you know?"

Dean and Cas shook their heads.

"King Ash always said that the troubles of our land would be over when the angel returned."

"Wait," Dean said, "King Ash knew about the freakin' angel?"

"Apprently."

Dean turned to Cas. "Did you talk to him about it?"

"No, why would I? I had no idea that the angel was in this egg."

Cas smoothed his hand over the back of the baby's head, touching the soft hair growing there. He held him close and kissed his forehead. Dean, though tense, leaned into them.

"What else did your king say about it?" asked the alpha.

"That's all I know," said Charlie. "He'd mention it from time to time."

The baby stopped suckling and Cas held him in his arms. He covered his chest and smiled weakly. "Is the world in such a state that we need a new era of peace?"

"With this Azazel guy," Dean began, "It sounds like there's more trouble than we know about."

He paused here. The angel was back. Azazel was likely still alive. Dean had to make his decision quickly.

"I bet the fairy king knows more about this than he told his people," Dean continued. "I think I'm going to go find him."

"What?" Cas looked at his mate sharply. "Dean, please. Don't go anywhere. We just had our baby…"

"I'm gonna have to take some kind of action eventually, why not now?"

"Dean," Cas moaned. "Must you?"

The observers were filing out of the house now, though Charlie remained. She lightly touched the baby's wings as the couple kept speaking.

"I know we've been through a lot," said Dean, "And I know it's been hard on you. Traveling is difficult and uncertainly really sucks. This time spent on the road has brought way more truths out than I'd like to know, but…now that the angel is here, now that my mate and I have put our bodies together and created the 'sign of peace', I think it's time to do something. This is undeniable proof that fate is on our shoulders."

Cas frowned. He looked at Charlie, who nodded. "I'll take you to Arkhmoor," said Charlie.

"Where?" asked Dean.

"The forest I'm from. It's called Arkhmoor. I'll take you there."

"With your eggs?" Cas interjected, looking worried. "What will Meg think?"

"I'll ask her, hold on."

The fairy quickly stood up and zoomed out of the house, leaving Dean and Cas alone with the baby. He was already asleep. Dean stared at the wall.

"Darling," Cas whispered, "Are you sure this is right? You've made your decision in but a few seconds."

"I know. Cas, I've been thinking about this constantly. I've been on the brink of making a decision all day. This baby changes everything…let me hold him."

Cas gently handed the child over to Dean, who held him with great ease. He rocked them baby and kissed his forehead.

"What do we name him?" Cas asked.

"No idea."

"What names do you like?"

"I don't know."

"Then he'll be the baby for a while until we decide. Is that all right?"

"Sure."

Dean smiled down at his son and cuddled with him. Cas had never seen that look on Dean's face before—he was happy, proud, at ease…it was a shame to think that everything was about to be flipped upside down. Again.

"Meg's coming with us."

Charlie returned with her alpha. They had already packed. Cas was surprised.

"You're leaving now?!"

"Yeah. Right, Dean?"

Dean gave the baby back to Cas and stood up. "Right," he said. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"No!" Cas yelped. "If you three are going, so am I!"

"Are you sure?" Meg asked, hands on her hips. "Carrying a baby is quite different than carrying an egg."

"I don't care. We're going to see the fairies, who know and love me. My baby will be safe in my arms. And besides, since we travel with the intent of discussing the child, shouldn't he be present?"

Charlie, Dean and Meg all looked at each other and nodded. Cas made a good point. They immediately started to pack and got a proper wagon ready for the journey. Before leaving, however, they both had unfinished business to attend to.

Dean came to Cole and Luci's house. The door was still busted out from him so he just stepped inside. Luci gave a shout when he saw Dean and clutched his eggs close to his chest.

"No!" he cried.

"It's okay," Dean said, trying to remain calm.

Cole was standing in the corner with some sort of small animal he had caught. He dropped the carcass on the table and approached Dean. "Why're you here?" he asked.

"You said I didn't understand," Dean began, sucking his teeth, "Why don't I understand?"

"Oh, so you kick the shit out of me, almost kill your own kid and then come back to apologize?"

"I'm not apologizing. I'm asking. What don't I understand?"

"Sit."

Cole pointed to a few stools on the ground, one of which Dean squat down onto. Cole joined him.

"I never wanted to breed your old mate," the smaller alpha said with a stiff sigh. The truth hurt. "It was her."

"Bullshit."

"I swear!" Cole barked. "She followed me on a hunt! Naked! You know how it is when you hunt! Imagine you've got this perfect kill lined up, hormones are raging, smells driving you wild, when out of nowhere—BOOM! This steaming pussy is sitting there, begging for you."

Dean's upper lip twitched. It didn't matter that she was dead, she had once been his mate. The thought of another talking about her like that made him sick. Cole's voice did not sound untrustworthy. Dean knew him well enough to tell.

"You fucked her," Dean growled.

"I'm sorry, but I did. I barely had any control. I…"

"What."

"I bred her a few times in a row, actually," Cole admitted with some shame. "She wanted it! I couldn't come down off of my high!"

Dean snorted and his lip twitched, but he forced himself to look at Cole. His face was badly bruised by Dean's earlier damage, but his eyes showed sincerity. Dean thought about what Meg said—what was the right thing to do?"

"Well," Dean began, forcing himself to smile, "I guess…it doesn't matter now. She's gone and the eggs are gone. I've got a new mate, a better one…a faithful one…and, I uh, well, here I am apologizing."

"S'okay, Dean. You're a good guy. I don't blame you."

Dean looked over at Luci and the eggs. A knot twisted in his stomach when he saw the color that reminded him of his old mate. He saw images of the first clutch being destroyed in the storm.

"You going somewhere?" Cole asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you going somewhere? You're acting like this is a goodbye or something."

"Yeah," Dean said, acting a little hazy. "I'm going to the forest. Gonna find some answers. Maybe I'll be back. I dunno." He stood up now and offered a hand to Cole, who shook it. "You're a good guy."

"Thanks, Dean. You, too."

"If I'm still not back by autumn, you can be the grand alpha."

Cole gasped softly, as did Luci. "You mean that?" he asked with surprise.

"Yeah," said Dean. He smirked. "Even if I come back before then, I might not want it. See you."

He left without saying anything else. There was something else he had to do before he left, and that involved Cain's old house. He told nobody about the objects he saw or took, but carefully put a few into a bag, wrapped them well and stuck them within the wagon with his other supplies.

Cas had gone to visit with Abaddon again and found her with her children finally. She was still upset and looking distracted as the babies sat in her lap. Rowena was nowhere to be seen.

"Abaddon," said Cas, approaching her carefully, "Dean, Meg, Charlie and I are going to leave. Will you be all right?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

"Time will heal your pain," Cas said. "Things will be different eventually. Once we return, I'm sure you will have new opinions."

"Sure…"

Cas sighed. There was little he could do. He said his goodbyes and joined the group at the wagon. Dean took the reins and they were off, leaving the town behind. Though it lacked resources and it barely felt like home, Cas felt discouraged to leave it behind. How many times would they have to move before they truly settled down?