While I have used this AU before, it was only in a chapter for my 'Destiel Across the AU's' fic. If you like please let me know!

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Castiel glanced uneasily at the sky, increasing his pace. He didn't like it. The sun's light was going too early, the dark clouds were blocking it out hours before sunset. The scent of the air was starting to change, too. Just like rain, snow gave a warning before the heavens opened.

The Omega reached up, tugging the hood back over his head again. It wouldn't stay up very far, not for very long anyway. His ears were on high alert, he couldn't relax them enough to flatten them. It was just as well, this wasn't the time or place to relax. Going out hadn't been wise, but he'd gauged it as a gamble better taken than not. All the signs pointed to a heavy snow storm, and they were low on key supplies. Dean still wasn't back from a hunting trip, there hadn't been any other options. If this storm lasted as long as he thought it would, they couldn't go into it on a firewood or food shortage.

He made it to the base of the mountain before snow started to fall. The Omega shivered, pausing to adjust the straps before continuing his climb. Wind blew around him, blasting his face with cold air. Castiel grimaced, then winced as even that small movement tugged at his cracked lips. No doubt his face was blistered, but it was for a good cause. The strap on the carrier was still broken, and even if it wasn't he couldn't carry both firewood and an infant on his back.

The temperature seemed to drop more by the minute. Even his tail tried to draw under his jacket rather than provide balance as it was intended. Gradually the sky grew dimmer, snow falling heavier, but nothing more than what would be a drizzle of rain. Castiel glanced farther ahead, breath clouding in front of his face. Suddenly that safe, warm cabin seemed very, very far away.

The Feline licked his lips, tasting blood as he carefully crossed the wide log laid across a swift river. There was another one farther up the mountain, smaller and easier to reach, that they used for water. This one rested at the bottom of a shallow gully. For the first time Castiel was grateful Dean had a tendency to go overboard, in this case spending over a week finding and moving a tree trunk for the bridge. Considering how much extra weight he was carrying Castiel wouldn't have risked crossing in one trip otherwise.

Perhaps going the extra preverbal mile was misguided, Castiel admitted grimly. I suppose we could have just done with more berries. But those roots are very filling and I have no idea how long we'll be stuck here. Besides, we're out of that herb completely and I make more breast milk when I eat it. Even if we run out of food she'll be fine.

No doubt Dean would throw a fit if he found out the Feline had walked an extra three miles away from their cabin under threat of a snowstorm for roots and herbs, but if given the choice Castiel would do it again. Contrary to common belief, Canines weren't the only ones who had a sense of loyalty. Okay, so Felines were encouraged to put more stock in self preservation. Maybe that was why it was so easy for Castiel to deal with being cast out, he hadn't gotten along with his people overly well in the first place. Dean's people hadn't been thrilled, but it wasn't the first time a Canine had taken someone from a Feline tribe as a mate. Their disapproval had lightened even more when their first child was born a Canine as well.

Castiel's boot slipped on a patch of snow-slick moss, making him stumble as he reached a steep part of the slope. He grabbed a tree limb to regain his balance, only to dump icy slush on his own head. His ears, still not fully covered, picked up a brief warning a mere second before it hit him, giving him just enough time to duck down over the bundle secured to his chest.

The Feline made a face, knocking slush from his head and shoulders as he continued his climb. Hazel stirred, fussing a little before settling again. Castiel tugged a glove off with his teeth, reaching down to pet her and make sure none of the snow had reached her yet. Hazel was only a few months old, still very small, fragile. He'd bundled her up as best he could then used his scarf to secure her in a sling, knowing she would endure more if she was in direct contact with him. So far she'd been quiet, only putting up a fuss a few hours ago when she got hungry then needed a change. Her small ears were flat to her skull, but that was normal, and her face was dry.

Satisfied, Castiel tugged his glove back on and kept going. Their cabin was several miles up the mountain, something that worked quite well if you were trying to lay low, but it made things difficult in times like this. Particularly when you had multiple straps digging into your shoulders. The bags of roots and herbs he'd managed to tie to his waist, so the shoulder bags wouldn't interfere with Hazel, but he'd crammed as much firewood as possible onto the rack secured to his back. Good for the future, not so good for him right now. The farther he walked the heavier it all seemed to get, and the footing wasn't getting any less treacherous. Twice more he almost lost his balance on slick grass and stone, barely managing to keep from falling.

"Two more miles," he muttered, ducking his head into a fresh gust blew snow into his face. "Just two more miles."

Hazel didn't reply. Neither did anyone else, which was probably a good thing. Castiel shivered, icy fingers forcing their way through any crack to reach his skin. He'd pulled on all the cold weather gear he'd had, fur boots, thick leggings, several tunics and a heavy coat, but the temperature was still dropping. Worse, if he was getting cold then Hazel would be too. She was under his heavy jacket, but it still might not be enough. The Omega wouldn't have brought her, put her at risk like this, but he hadn't had a choice. He couldn't leave her alone for so long.

Castiel gave up trying to keep his hood over his head, focusing on not falling. The Feline focused on the climb, but at the same time all he could think about was a roaring fire and a hot meal, getting Hazel back into her crib with a full belly. Would Dean be back yet? It was bad enough he was still out here, they didn't need both of them wandering through the snow, which was undoubtedly what would happen if the Alpha decided to go looking for him rather than wait. And Dean didn't just wait. He didn't do well with sitting around.

The Omega had just passed a familiar oak, one that was roughly a mile and a half from their cabin, when his boot heel hit a rock covered by snow. Castiel flailed when his foot shot out from under him as he put his full weight on it. Unfortunately the foot jammed against a tree trunk imminently after, pain shooting up from his ankle as he went down. He managed to catch himself on his left arm, twisting as he went down in a desperate attempt to avoid landing on Hazel. The Feline yelped, an even more vivid pain exploding in his shoulder as his arm collapsed, dropping him onto his side. His full body weight, plus that of everything he was carrying, crashed down onto his already injured shoulder. For a moment all he could see were spots, the wash of pain taking his breath away. Slowly, Hazel's cries in his ears, Castiel dragged himself onto his knees, bracing his good arm on the ground. He tried to drag a foot underneath him, but had to bite back a yelp as a stab of pain hit him again.

Fear gnawed at his gut, adding to the pain making his stomach roll. No, no he couldn't stop now. The cabin wasn't much farther, he had to keep going. He had no idea where Dean was or when he'd be back, it was just him. Hazel shouldn't be injured, but she'd been jostled enough to make her start crying, and she'd be getting cold fast. He had to get her home, as soon as possible.

Gritting his teeth, Castiel lifted his head, peering around desperately. He spotted a sapling a few feet away, small but enough to help him keep his balance. The Omega crawled on his hands and knees through the snow, favoring his left arm. When he reached the sapling he was able to drag himself upright, favoring his right foot. The Feline wasn't sure if it was better or worse that a limb on each side was injured, but at least he could put his foot down. It hurt less than his arm, meaning he could still walk.

"Please stop," he groaned. The pain was actually blocking out the cold. Hazel's cries weren't helping, but he couldn't stop and sooth her yet. It would have to wait.

Hazel didn't respond, as was her habit. Unfortunately this also meant she didn't stop crying. Castiel tried to ignore it, with mixed results.

The sky was getting darker, no doubt as the sun started to drop behind the mountains. They weren't close, but they were also tall enough to cut sunlight early. Great. Just great. Exactly what he needed right now.

"I love you, but I would really appreciate it if you would stop crying," the Omega pleaded, voice strained.

If anything, Hazel wailed louder.

The Feline swallowed tightly, each heavy limping step sending a jolt through his left shoulder. The weight of a rack full of firewood on his back bore down, adding to the burning agony gnawing at his shoulder. A part of him wanted to ditch it, lighten his load, but he didn't dare. He'd come too far to give in now. It couldn't be more than a mile, right?

Maybe it was, but it was also the longest mile of Castiel's life. Dimmed sunlight and elongated shadows didn't make him any less jumpy, every instinct on edge. They'd been alert before, but he was injured now. If something happened, if a person or an animal came after him he couldn't run.

Gradually, the Feline began to zone out. One foot in front of the other, one heavy plod followed by a staggering step accompanied by yet another jolt of pain. Arms out for balance, head down against the wind, he slogged forward in the thickening snow, step by step.

Castiel tried to think about something else, anything else. Something to make the pain easier to bear. Ironically his mind drifted to the one time he'd actually endured an agony worse than this. He blamed it on the memory being a fresh one. That said, it was also one of his best memories in the end. It had been horrible, yes, but in the end it had eased as he heard Hazel start to cry.

Giving birth could be bad enough, but the circumstances hadn't been favorable ones. They'd been visiting Dean's brother and his mate when he'd gone into labor, and Jess had run to get the local healer. By the time the old woman made it Castiel had been thoroughly terrified. He remembered clinging to his mate's arm, begging him to stay. All too vividly he had remembered the Feline tradition of only allowing other Omegas and female Betas in the room during birth. While previously it had been a fact of life for him, suddenly the thought of going through the process alone was too much. Dean, for his part, had seemed surprised his Omega had thought he'd leave at all. He'd stayed glued to the Feline's side, hovering, letting Castiel grip his hand so tight they'd later found out bones had broken.

Despite his current situation, Castiel cracked a smile at the memory, not minding that it made his lips bleed. He remembered the Canine grumbling afterwards while the healer splinted broken digits, the way his face had lit up when the old woman had brought Hazel back from a cleaning. Remembered coming back into the cabin with a basket of laundry to find his mate sprawled on the rug in front of their hearth, out cold on his back with Hazel curled up on his chest. Remembered pretending to be asleep more than once so he could listen to his mate croon lullabies and baby babble to their gurgling pup.

In the end, Castiel wasn't entirely sure how he made it back, but he did. He fumbled to lift the heavy bar, heaving the door open with his good shoulder and stumbling through the doorway. Hazel's shrieks echoed in the enclosed space, and he hurried to bolt and bar the door before shedding his load. The firewood hit the floor first, and the Feline gasped at the difference it made. The bags with roots and herbs were next, and he staggered over to the nearest lamp, yanking his gloves off to light it. Once he could see properly Castiel discarded his coat, easing it over his left arm before gingerly unbinding Hazel.

As it turned out she needed both a changing and a feeding, which he was more than happy to give her. Castiel closed his eyes, sitting with his back to the cold hearth while she ate. He'd get a fire going, but after. Right now he was just glad she'd finally stopped crying.

Eventually Hazel grew full, and the Feline stood to burp her and carry her over to the cradle. He lowered her down, weary of his bad arm, tugging the blanket over his baby. Slumping in relief, Castiel straightened, returning to work. The first thing he did was light a fire, getting it going hot and strong before picking up his dumped hall. The roots and herbs he put away next, then set about the long process of moving firewood to its place by the hearth, one log at a time.

Castiel was taking the last of it across the cabin when something crashed against the door, startling him into dropping the wood. His head snapped up, staring in growing horror as the door rattled again, something slamming into it from the outside a second time. He spared a glance for Hazel's cradle as he ran to the door, bracing his good shoulder against the bookcase. The door rattled again, a low snarl emitting through the wood as the Feline struggled to push the heavy frame in front of it. Dean had made it that way intentionally, so it would serve a double purpose.

What scared Castiel the most was that the snarl was human, an Alpha. This wasn't some animal, easily outwitted or outlasted. Feline or Canine, it wouldn't matter. He had no idea what they were doing coming after him now, in a snow storm of all times. It didn't make sense, but he wasn't about to poke his head out to ask.

The door thoroughly barred, Castiel hurried back across the cabin. He grabbed the head of Hazel's cradle, gently pulling it across the floor. They kept it near the wall across from the hearth, warm but out of the way. Now he pulled it back into the nearest corner, out of sight, as safe as he could get it. Ideally he'd move her upstairs to the loft, where their bed was and even farther out of the way, but he couldn't climb the ladder and carry her with a bad arm.

It didn't occur to the Feline until after he grabbed Dean's machete from the sideboard that the banging had stopped not long after he'd moved the bookcase. No Alpha that had slogged through this weather would give up so easily. He was approaching the door, weary, when a section of the floor in front of the heart blew upward. The Feline yelped, spinning around machete first as something big and dark surged upward with a furious snarl.

His first blow, if it could even be called that, was ducked with ease. The Alpha slammed into him, knocking him on his back and grabbing the wrist with the machete. Castiel yelped as he crashed into the floor, sliding back on the smooth wood, sucking in a gasp of pain that made his vision go temporarily white.

The growl cut off abruptly. Castiel didn't notice, gritting his teeth and jerking his left arm up, aiming for the Canine's face, baring his own teeth in a snarl that was as much fear as anger. It wasn't until that moment that the scent hit him smack in the face, and he fell quiet.

"Cas?"

Dean scrambled backwards, eyes wide. Castiel sat up, grimacing, ears twitching upward in hope. "Dean?"

Rather than answer, the Alpha yanked him into a tight embrace, one that forced a strangled cry through Castiel's lips. Imminently Dean jerked away, a frown knitting his brow. "What? What's wrong?"

"My shoulder. What are you doing? Why were you...

"I'm sorry. I saw the tracks outside, they didn't look like yours and I didn't think you'd gone anywhere. What do you mean your shoulder? Let me see."

"I had to, Dean." He might have said more, but the Alpha had grabbed his arm. He'd tried to be gentle, but it didn't matter. Castiel had to clamp his jaw down tight to keep from crying out again.

"How the hell'd you dislocate your arm?" his mate demanded.

"I fell."

Dean shot him a look, rising to his knees and shuffling around to his side. "It hurts like hell, but if we can get it back in the socket that should help."

Castiel grimaced, looking away. His eyes fell on the ripped boards and thrown back trap door. It was a root cellar that doubled as an escape route, as Dean had made it with two exits. Neither of which were easy to find if you didn't already know where they were.

"We're going to need to fix that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Ready?"

Castiel nodded, setting his jaw.

"One-

The Feline grunted, face twisting in a grimace. "I thought you were supposed to count to three."

"It's easier this way, trust me. Better?"

Castiel hesitated, looking down at his left shoulder. It occurred to him that it had been drooping before, out of alignment. It looked straight now, and while putting it back into the socket hadn't been pleasant the pain was already easing.

"Yes," he answered, surprised.

"Anything else I should know about?"

"Um, something's wrong with my foot, but I doubt it's as bad."

"Jeez, what'd you do?"

Dean helped him get through most of his layers, shedding his own heavy gear while he was at it. Once they were more mobile Dean sat cross-legged and gently lifting the Omega's right foot into his lap. Castiel winced as he coaxed his boot from his foot, setting it aside. When he peeled off the thick sock, the Feline caught his breath. He hadn't expected his ankle to be swollen, much less for it to be such a vivid shade of purple.

"I think it was sprained, but whatever you did made it worse. You're staying off this for a few days, you hear? And you're going to wear a sling for that arm."

"But-

"Cas, you're hurt, alright? You need to get better."

Reluctantly, Castiel nodded. "Fine."

Satisfied, Dean lowered his foot to the floor and stood, going over to shelves mounted to one wall. He took down some cloth strips, but when he turned away he seemed to finally notice the rack that was still on the floor. His eyes narrowed, jaw twitching.

"You went out to get firewood? Seriously?"

"We needed supplies. I thought I could get back before the storm set in."

"What kind of supplies?"

"Firewood. Fenugreek. That root you say tastes like feet."

Dean stared at him, a look of baffled disbelief on his face. "You climbed all the way up here with a bum foot and busted shoulder carrying all that?"

"I believe I was already halfway up when I fell," Castiel corrected.

"That's not...wait, where's Hazel?"

"Sleeping."

Dean nodded once, then focused his attention on binding the Omega's foot. He tugged a thick sock over his work when he was done, then made a sling for his shoulder. Only when he was satisfied his mate had been patched up did he move him to a chair, helping him limp across the floor.

The Alpha went over to the cradle next, checking on Hazel and moving her closer to the fireplace once more. He stacked the firewood and stashed away the herbs and roots, setting the rack aside and putting a pot of water on to boil while he covered the new hole in their floor. Castiel watched him work, tail slowly twitching behind him contentedly. He still hurt, but the pain in his shoulder had settled to a dull throb and his ankle ached a little less now that he wasn't using it. He was warm, his mate and child were safe, and it looked like Dean was working on supper. Despite the raging snowstorm outside and the rough trip up the mountain, he felt satisfied with the way the day had ended.

The Feline closed his eyes, drowsiness setting in as he relaxed in the warmth of the fire, only to jolt awake again as Hazel began to fuss. Dean paused his work, shooting Castiel a warning glance as he went over to the cradle. The Omega reluctantly settled, twisting to watch his mate. It went against instinct and habit, not going to his baby regardless of there being someone else around. He watched as Dean gathered up their daughter, bouncing her gently until she quieted before wandering over to the Omega. The Alpha passed her over, fussing with the cloths she was swaddled in, before going back to preparing their meal. Castiel sighed, cradling her in his arms, closing his eyes again.

Hazel gurgled, yawning and blinking up at him with eyes turning green. They'd been brown when she was born, but he'd noticed they were more emerald than garnet this last month. Once discovering an infant's eyes often changed from the brown or blue they were born with he'd relaxed, enjoying the fact she'd have is mate's bright green orbs.

The Omega gently stroked her cheek with a finger, a tired smile gracing his visage. He pushed the cloth back from her face a little, giving the ears near the top of her skull room to breathe. They were small yet, much like her tail, and typically such appendages would remain that way until they were at least a year old. Even so, there were enough differences to know they'd be Canine, despite the fact every strand of hair was jet black.

As the mouthwatering scent of stew began to fill their home Castiel's stomach began to rumble, though Hazel was still wide awake. Hungry or no he was still tired, giving a small start when Dean plunked a full bowl in front of him. He grimaced apologetically, not protesting as the Canine took the bundled baby from him.

Dean wandered around the cabin as his mate inhaled two large bowls of stew, either ignoring or unaware of the cobalt eyes on him. The Canine maintained a strictly gruff, very Alpha persona in public, something even Castiel didn't see dropped overly often. While it had dropped in favor of the more kindhearted, loving persona more often the longer they'd been mated, there had been a notable increase after Hazel.

Castiel wondered drowsily if his mate realized he was actually crooning over their daughter, humming in lowered tones. Hazel babbled and cooed occasionally, at one point a chubby arm reaching out of the blanket. The Alpha shifted her in his arms so he could tuck it back in. At least that was what Castiel guessed he'd intended. Instead those tiny, chubby fingers gasped her father's finger, stopping his effort cold. A look of tender affection eclipsed Dean's face. He brushed her fingers with a thumb, not trying to pull away as she continued to coo baby nonsense.

Eventually Dean did get his finger back, and Castiel realized he was falling asleep sitting upright. His mate had to return Hazel to her cradle so he could hover around the Omega, clearly worried as he carefully climbed up to the loft area that was their bedroom. Castiel made it, only stumbling once, much to Dean's relief. He barely remembered stripping out of his dirty clothes and burying himself among the warm blankets and furs and pillows.

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