Castiel had just finished purchasing the books when a shout resounded in his head.

CAS

His head whipped around, startling the cashier. He ignored her worried "Sir?" and rushed out of the store, shoving people out of the way. He ran behind the building and flew away to the bunker. He landed and immediately panicked at the sound of screaming.

"Dean!" Castiel ran towards the source of all the noise and crouched down, looking under the table. He found Dean shivering with Sam held tightly in his arms. The moment Dean saw him, he lunged toward the angel. Castiel caught both of them and pulled them close. His eyes darted around the room, searching for whatever caused their distress. Seeing nothing, Castiel looked back down at Dean, who was trembling as he sobbed into the angel's shirt.

"C-Cas…" Dean blubbered, causing the angel's eyes to widen.

"Dean?" Said boy looked at Castiel, heaving, and then threw up, splattering all three of them. This sent Sam and Dean into a new wave of sobs, so Castiel picked them up and carried them to one of the unused bathrooms. While the Men of Letters had a shower room, they had also installed a few private bathrooms that luckily contained a bathtub.

Castiel removed his coat and turned the water on. While he waited for the water to warm, he gently stripped Sam and Dean and set their clothes on top of his soiled trench coat. He also summoned the shampoo and soap from Dean's room. Once the water seemed warm enough. He filled the tub a few inches and sat Dean in it before easing Sam in.

Dean, having done this with his Daddy a few times (the man was too impatient to give them separate baths), let Sammy lean back against his chest to support the baby. Dean loved his brother, but he missed sitting in a full bathtub overflowing with bubbles. He missed his Mommy spiking his hair up and playing along when he splashed her. Dean was always cold now since the water didn't even really cover his legs, and Daddy didn't like being splashed.

He was still crying softly when Castiel poured water over his head. Sammy had calmed down somewhat when he had been placed in the water, and he cooed as he slapped at the water. Dean wished he could be Sammy in that moment—not have to think or know about sad things. He wanted to be able to bounce back and forget whatever had upset him.

"Hush, Dean. Everything is fine." Castiel gently rubbed shampoo into Dean's hair as he spoke. The deep rumble of his voice was soothing to Dean. "I apologize for leaving and worrying you. I had an errand to run and did not expect you to wake before I returned."

Dean looked up at Castiel, baffled. Dean had cried and upset Sammy and had vomited on all three of them. Castiel's really nice coat was probably ruined because of him, as well as the pajamas the angel had been kind enough to buy them. But the angel was apologizing to him?

It made Dean want to cry again, but he was able to hold the tears back this time.

Soon, Castiel was lifting Sammy and him out and wrapping them in large towels. Dean let the angel dry him off and was awed as Castiel made his other pajamas (the ones he had worn when he had woken up in that lady's house) appear out of thin air. He had seen Castiel do something like this before, of course, but he never got tired of it. It was magic! Who could get tired of magic?

Castiel helped Dean get dressed and then zipped Sam up in his footie pajamas. As he moved to leave, he felt Dean tug on his pants. He looked down into wide, green eyes and watched as Dean brought his hand to his chin and then back out.

"You are welcome, Dean." He watched Dean glance guiltily over at the pile of soiled clothes. He knelt down and tilted Dean's chin until the boy was looking at him again. "You do not need to worry about that. I am not upset with you, and it can easily be cleaned."

Dean nodded and looked down. He still felt guilty, but the angel was being so nice. He fisted his hand in Castiel's pants and followed him back to his room. Dean climbed into bed and settled in, staring up at the angel as he set Sammy down beside the boy.

"Would you like for me to sing to you again?" Castiel asked. Dean nodded eagerly and drifted off as Castiel began to sing some lullaby that he had never heard of.

Now that the chaos was over and the two were asleep, Castiel had time to think about tonight's events.

Dean had spoken.

He had only said one word—it being the shortened version of his name (which sent a strange sense of satisfaction through the angel)—but it was like music to Castiel's ears. It was the first word the angel had heard from Dean since he and Sam had left to hunt the witch.

He didn't understand why Dean wouldn't talk before. It wasn't caused by an injury—Castiel's grace had checked for that. Dean just couldn't seem to talk. Being unable to do anything had frustrated the angel, but now, maybe, the angel could get Dean to open up and speak again.

Castiel read the parenting books he had bought and planned how he could ease Dean into talking more. He was still reading when Dean walked into the room with Sam a few hours later.

"Hello, Dean." Castiel closed the book and stood. "Did you sleep well?"

Dean nodded, staying silent. Castiel frowned and clasped his hands in front of him. "Do you think you could speak for me, Dean? I heard you say my name last night. Could you say it again?"

Dean hesitated, shifting nervously, before nodding. "C—" He coughed lightly. "Casi—Casit...Cas?" Dean anxiously looked up at Castiel through his bangs, his voice rasping. Would the angel be mad he couldn't say his full name?

Cas smiled, feeling an unidentifiable flutter inside his chest at the sound of his nickname. "Cas is fine, Dean. I am happy that you are speaking now."

Dean nodded again, his lips twitching up as he smiled shyly. He didn't quite trust his words yet, and he didn't want to disappoint Cas and himself if he couldn't say 'thank you'.

Sam started fussing, so Cas decided to take the small win for now and try to get more out of Dean later.

After another messy breakfast—Cas did not understand how children could get food in such obscure places—he sat Dean with crayons and paper again and set Sam in the crook of his arm as he pored over the pages of the latest book he found.

It was only 30 minutes later when Dean approached him with a piece of paper that had 'bOrD' written on it. Cas sighed and closed his book. He had hoped the crayons would distract the boy for a while, but Dean had always been one to prove Cas wrong. To be fair, they had been cooped up in the bunker with little to do. Cas had read that a variety of activities were good for the child's development. He just wasn't sure what to do besides watch TV and draw.

"What would you like to do, Dean?"

Dean hesitated for a moment before writing 'parK?'.

Cas was hesitant to leave the safety of the bunker. The Winchesters had many enemies, and they were so vulnerable right now. He had never been one to deny Dean, though. "That is fine. I believe there is a park not far from here."

They took the car—Cas not wanting a repeat of the first night he brought them home. Cas settled on a bench with Sam and a book but made sure to keep an eye on Dean, who eagerly ran over to the jungle gym. Cas had only been reading for a few minutes when he was interrupted by a voice.

"What a wee babe." Cas stiffened as a familiar redhead sat down next to him. "Hard to believe this small thing grows up to be such a giant."

"Rowena." Cas growled. "What are you doing here?"

Rowena smirked. "Fergus let me know that you had a wee bit of a problem and needed some help." She leaned forward and tapped Sam's nose, receiving a giggle from the baby. "Magic. Such a fickle thing, isn't it?"

"Can you fix them?" Cas asked.

"I can. It's a complicated spell, though. Regression spells are either done as a temporary distraction or for a permanent restart." Rowena rested her fingers on Sam's chest. "The witch they ran into used the permanent variety. Hm…" Rowena frowned.

Cas instantly became worried. "What is it?"

"This was a custom spell." Rowena moved her hand and pressed two fingers to Sam's temple. The baby reached up to try to play with her hand, so Rowena gave him her free one. She smirked at the confused expression Cas gave her. "What? I raised a child once. I remember what to do." She turned her focus back on Sam. "Creating a counter spell will take some time, but it's not impossible."

Cas mentally sighed in relief. "When will you have it ready?"

"I'll need time to gather ingredients—figure out the right incantation. It shouldn't take more than a few days, maybe a week."

A week. Cas could wait a week.

"Cas?" Rowena and Cas looked down to see Dean staring up at Rowena curiously but cautiously, edging closer to Cas without taking his eyes off the new woman. She reminded Dean of the strange lady that had taken him and his brother.

Cas settled a hand on Dean's head to ease the boy. "Dean, this is Rowena. She is...helping me with a problem."

Dean nodded but stayed behind Cas's leg, keeping a tight grip on the angel's trench coat. He still didn't trust the lady. He got a bad vibe from her, just like that funny-sounding man who could appear and disappear like Cas.

"Such a little thing, aren't you?" Rowena leaned towards the boy and smirked.

Cas growled. "Rowena."

She leaned back and held her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not going to hurt the lad."

"You should start getting the spell together." Cas said, wanting the witch to leave. "The faster it's done, the faster they go back to normal."

"As normal as Winchesters can be." Rowena stood and brushed off her dress. "Personally, I like them this way. Less yelling and threats." She leaned down and winked at Dean, who tightened his grip on Cas's coat. "Isn't that right, Dean?"

"Rowena."

Said woman rolled her eyes. "Is that all you can say?" She raised her hands when Cas glared at her. "My, it is easy to set you off. I'll be going now. Try not to get them killed, will you? As much as they annoy me, the Winchesters have done some good for the world." Rowena sauntered off before Cas could say anything back, leaving the angel frustrated.

"Cas?" Cas felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down into Dean's curious eyes.

"Are you done playing, Dean?"

Dean's face fell. Cas probably wanted to leave now. He shouldn't be so sad—Cas had taken him to the park! Daddy used to take him to the park, but ever since Mommy went away, Daddy has been busy and could only take him to the library. Dean liked looking at the picture books, but they were always there for hours, and it got boring.

So he shouldn't be sad. But…

Cas noticed Dean's quiet distress and spoke. "If you are not done playing, we do not have to go. I am just fine staying here and reading while you burn off your energy."

Dean's head snapped up. Cas...didn't mind staying? It was so strange. The angel was always asking what Dean wanted to do, and when Dean told him, they would do it! It was...It was really nice.

Dean nodded shyly and then bit his lip as he glanced at the swings. Cas did say he was gonna sit and read, but Cas had been reading a lot lately. He probably needed a break, right?

Cas was about to ask if Dean actually did want to go home when the boy took his free hand and gently pulled on it. Cas furrowed his brows. "You would like me to come with you?"

At Dean's nod, Cas stood and followed the boy as he led the angel toward the swings. Dean gestured for Cas to put Sam in a strangely shaped swing that allowed the baby to enjoy the activity without fear of him falling out. Once Sam was settled, Dean sat in the swing next to the baby and waited, but Cas just stood there, staring at Dean expectantly.

Dean huffed out a breath—angels were so weird—and stood from the swing. He grabbed Cas's hand and dragged the angel behind the swings. Then, making sure that Cas was watching him, Dean gently pushed Sammy's swing. The baby squealed at the sudden movement and burst into a fit of giggles as he swung back and forth. Cas watched the baby curiously as Dean went back to his swing.

Once Dean was sat, Cas looked at the boy. "You would like me to push you?" At Dean's enthusiastic nod, Cas stepped forward and pushed at Dean's back, causing the boy to surge forward. Dean let a grin form on his face as he flew higher and pumped his legs to keep himself swinging. Cas stood between the two boys, pushing them forward when needed to keep them moving.

It soon grew dark, and a snow began to gently fall. Cas ceased pushing them and let the swings come to a stop. Dean hopped off his swing and waited for Cas to grab Sammy before wrapping his arms around the angel's legs. He beamed up at Cas, his face a light pink from the cold. Dean rapidly signed his thanks.

Cas couldn't help but smile. "You are welcome, Dean. Are you ready to go home now?"

Nodding quickly, Dean took Cas's hand and let the angel lead him back to the car, his smile never leaving his face.

His smile stayed throughout dinner, and it was still there after bath time and when he was tucked in bed. It grew even bigger when Cas began to sing without being asked. As he drifted off to sleep, Sammy snug in his arms, Dean had only one thought going through his mind.

Best. Day. Ever.

A/N: Feel free to send me prompts or talk to me at browniesarethebest on tumblr!