August 2020

Dean closed his eyes, humming contentedly at the sun warming his face. He was laying on a towel in the sand next to Cas. His husband had been laying down with him a second ago, but he had sat back up to scan the beach. "Would you stop worrying?" Dean asked him with his eyes still closed. "Mack is taking good care of him. They're having fun playing. Now come here." He smirked when he felt Cas settle back into his side a moment later. "The last time we came to the beach, Jack wasn't big enough to leave our side. I'm allowed to worry now that he's more mobile," Cas pointed out.

Dean opened his eyes, turning his head to look at his husband. "I know you are, buddy. I'm just pointing out that Mack is responsible and wouldn't let anything happen to her brother. She loves that kid." Cas sighed in resignation, "Yeah." He laid against Dean's chest, tracing patterns on his heated skin. They only got a few moments of peace, though, because a few seconds later they were jumped on by a toddler. "Dada! Papa! Want juice!" Dean groaned as Cas sat up again to tend to Jack's request. "Sorry," Mack apologized, panting as she ran over to join them. "He got thirsty and started running back here before I could stop him."

"It's fine," Cas assured her, handing Jack a juice box from the cooler beside their towels. "It is so not fine," Dean grumbled, one arm thrown over his eyes as he pouted at the loss of cuddle time with Cas. "Oh, hush, you," Cas rolled his eyes, hitting Dean's side. "You want anything, bee?"

"I'm good, thanks. Do you have Jack? I wanna go swim." Cas nodded, "Yeah, we can keep an eye on him for a minute. Go ahead." Mack grinned, "Awesome. Thanks." She took off, leaving them with Jack. "Seriously?" Dean groaned, sitting up. "Remind me why I agreed to adopt another kid… If we didn't have Jack we could be having a totally different kind of beach vacation right now."

"Don't listen to Dada, Jack. Papa loves you very much," Cas told the young child in his lap. "Skeeze sauce!" Jack yelled, losing interest in his unfinished juice box. "Skeeze sauce!" Cas took the juice box, swapping it out for a squeeze pouch of apple sauce. "Here you go, bud." Jack took the apple sauce, drinking it as he leaned back on Cas' lap. Dean was quiet, observing his husband and son as Cas ran his fingers through the young boy's hair and stared at the waves, obviously deep in thought. All jokes about the three-year-old robbing them of cuddle time aside, he really did love his life. Loving husband, wonderful daughter, adorable son… what more could he ask for?

"Dean!" Dean blinked looking around. "Aw crap." He took the fire extinguisher from Cas, spraying it on the grill to put out the fire that had just erupted there. The burgers were effectively ruined. "What had you so distracted?" Cas asked curiously as he started scraping the charred remains of the meat off the grill. "I… I don't remember," Dean frowned. "We were at the beach and-"

"At the beach?" Cas cut him off. "When?" Dean's frown deepened, brow furrowed. "Uh… Just… Earlier today?" It felt like minutes ago, but if they were back home… "Babe, we haven't been down to the beach in weeks. We haven't had time," Cas informed him, cobalt gaze studying his face worriedly. "Are you feeling alright? Do you need to go lay down?" Dean blinked, processing the information. They hadn't been to the beach in weeks? But they were just there. He could still feel the sun in his face, hear the waves crashing, and see Cas taking care of Jack. What the hell?

"I…" he swallowed, biting his lip. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll go lay down. Are you okay figuring out dinner?" Cas nodded, "Of course. I'll have Mack help me. Go take a minute." Dean nodded, making his way inside the house and heading to the master bedroom, laying down. It felt like things like this were happening a lot lately. He'd lose chunks of time from his day or thinking something happened that Cas claimed hadn't really happened.

As he succumbed to sleep, he could have sworn he heard a distant voice telling him he needed to snap out of it.

September 2020

Dean was elbow deep under the hood of one of the cars at the garage where he worked. He was the last one still working, having opted to stay late to finish the job since it was so close to being done anyway. When he and Cas discussed options for work, they agreed it made sense for Cas to stay home with the kids to watch Jack and homeschool Mack while Dean got a job. He thought about going back to work in construction like he had at Lisa and Ben's, but then he had seen that the local garage was hiring and given his love for and experience in car restoration, it made the most logical sense for him to apply.

As he moved over to grab some more tools, there was a crash from the other end of the garage. Frowning, he grabbed a rag and wiped his hands as best he could, making his way in the direction of the noise. "We're closed," he called out. "Come back tomorrow." There wasn't a response besides more clattering as whoever had come into the garage knocked into more stuff. When he got to the other side, he froze. A man was rummaging through different employees' stations, and he had pitch black eyes.

"Hey, asshat," Dean said, getting the demon's attention. "You looking for me?" The demon turned, smiling sinisterly when he saw him. "Winchester," the demon greeted him, lunging forward. The pair started sparring in hand-to-hand combat, Dean doing his best to fend off the attack. With each blow he managed to hit, he began to see little flashes. A ritzy motel suite… The familiar curled red hair of Abaddon… The dead body of a young child that looked a lot like Mack…

He began reciting an exorcism as he continued to fend off the demon. The demon started to convulse and scream as he spoke. He was just a few words away from sending the demon to Hell and-

"Dean! Dean, wake up!" Dean shot straight up in bed, breathing heavily. A thin sheen of sweat covered his entire body as he gasped. "Whoa. Whoa," Cas soothed him gently, placing a hand on his chest. "Easy. It was just a bad dream. You're safe." He settled back against the pillows again. "It… It felt real," he gasped, coughing a little. "It felt so real."

"Shh," Cas shushed him, running his fingers through his hair. "I… I was at work," Dean continued weakly. "There was a demon… Mack…" Cas pulled the covers over him. "Dean, you need to rest. You're sick."

"Where's Mack?"

"She's in the other room with Jack. Rest, babe."

"You gotta check on her, Cas. You gotta make sure she's okay."

"I will, Dean. I promise. Get some sleep now, okay? I'll have Mack come in when you wake up later."

"Okay," Dean mumbled, closing his eyes. He felt Cas press his lips to his temple before he succumbed to sleep once more.