Title: A Cathedral of our Own

Rating: PG

Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel… and Someone Else.

Warnings: Unfortunately unbetaed, all mistakes are my own

Summary: Castiel picks up a trail that might potentially lead to his Father, and invites Sam and Dean along to the Winchester Cathedral.

Spoilers/Warning: Spoilers for the first five seasons, none for season six.

AN: This was written for spn_foxhole's Team Free Will Fic fest over on livejournal. My prompt was In S5, sometimes Sam and Dean joined Castiel in his globetrotting search for God.

Dean Winchester turned as he heard the familiar rustling of wings. Sam Winchester looked up at the sound as well. Both of them knew better then to let their guard down when they heard that particular sound. They relaxed as soon as they saw that it was Castiel.

"Hey Cas," Sam said before turning back to his laptop.

"Sam, Dean," Castiel greeted. "Are you busy with a Hunt?"

"Naw," Dean said. "Sammy's trying to find something, but everything seems to be taking a break right now."

"I don't like it," Sam said. "It's the middle of the Apocalypse, and nothing is going on? I really don't like it."

"You mentioned that," Castiel said with a small smile.

Sam sighed. "Sorry, just frustrated."

"I don't blame you," Castiel said. "My brothers are active, but not enough to register on any human mind. And nothing a human can do to keep them from acting."

"Not helping," Dean muttered.

Castiel shifted and sat down on the small couch next to Dean. "My apologies," he said.

"It's alright, Cas," Sam said. "So, why are you here?"

"I have… I was hoping you weren't in the middle of a case," Castiel said. "I need your help."

Dean sat up straight and put down the gun he was cleaning. Sam looked up from his laptop.

"What is it?"

"I need to…" Castiel sighed and rolled his eyes, a very human gesture he'd picked up from Sam. "I want to take you with me while I search for my Father in England," he said. "I have not had much luck with the people in England."

Dean smirked. "You'd think they'd like the stoic attitude."

Castiel frowned at him. "I don't…"

"Cultural reference, Cas," Sam interrupted. "Don't worry about it. England, though? You want us to go with you?"

"Yes. There are some hints that the Winchester Cathedral has played host to my Father recently."

Sam and Dean's eyes went wide. "The Winchester Cathedral?" Sam squeaked. He would forever after deny that he did so, of course.

Castiel smiled very slightly. "Yes," he said. "I thought that… I thought that you might want to come with me."

Dean started grinned. "YEAH!" he said. "Awesome! The Winchester Cathedral? I've wanted to see that place since I heard about it!"

Sam grinned as well. "Yeah, remember? We were at that small school, with all the classes together, and everyone kept looking at us when the teachers talked about the Winchester Cathedral. It was great. The other kids kept calling it our cathedral."

Dean laughed. Castiel was still smiling, but slyly this time. "I'm glad it interests you," he said.

Sam glanced at their angelic friend sharply. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"No, I do believe my Father was at the cathedral only a short time ago. But I admit I did wait until I hoped you could come with me."

"Alright," Dean said. "Let me get out the fake passports- that reminds me, I made one up for you, too, Cas, just in case, and we can go."

"Why would I need a passport?"

"It's a just in case thing," Dean said with a shrug. He pulled out the bag they kept a lot of their fake ids in and began flipping through them.

"Make sure mine's the Sam Wesson one," Sam said. "That identity is still clean."

"Isn't Sam Wesson the identity you had when Zachariah erased your memories?"

"Yeah, but it's a good set up," Sam said. "Dean's still got his from that one, too. The investments he had were pretty good."

"I see," Castiel said, though it was clear he didn't.

"Alright," Dean said. "Sammy, you're Sam Wesson, I'm Dean Campbell- when did you make that one?"

Sam grinned. "Last year. Thought I'd honor Mom a bit."

"And Cas is Casper Macleod."

"Casper?" Castiel asked.

Sam grinned. "It's a name that's a bit more common than Castiel," he said.

Dean flipped the others their respective passports. "Are we going to be there long?" he asked.

"Hopefully, only a few hours," Castiel said. He reached out and touched both of them on the forehead. Thankfully, Sam and Dean were both getting used to his method of travel, and the three of them arrived in a small alleyway and left it without hesitation.

Sam was trying very hard not to grin like a fiend. "It's Winchester," he said.

"I never thought we'd get to come here," Dean agreed. He wasn't even trying not to grin.

Castiel wasn't grinning, but his eyes were very bright with what would be suppressed laughter if he were anyone else.

"We are here to do a job," he said. "We need to get into the Cathedral itself, and look around without being stopped."

They turned a corner and Dean stopped dead. There it was. "Wow…" he whispered.

"Yeah," Sam said, equally quiet. "Pictures just don't do it justice."

Castiel stopped as well, but for a different reason. "He… He really has been here…" he whispered.

Sam and Dean turned to look at him. "He has?" Sam asked.

Castiel nodded. "I can feel Him. His presence, in the Cathedral. He was here… and not long ago. He was here!"

Sam and Dean turned to look at him. "Really?" Sam asked. "He's really here?"

"No," Castiel said. "But He was. In the last few months, I think. I need to get closer, to try to find out when."

Sam and Dean grinned again, for a completely different reason. This was the closest Castiel had been to his Father. The closest he had to any proof that his Father still cared about Earth.

The three of them turned to look at the cathedral. "There should be a noon communion service we can attend," Sam said. "I know none of us are actually Church of England, but that shouldn't be a problem. And we can always take a tour if it comes to that."

Dean snorted. "Let's see if we can't just wander around first. That might get Cas close enough to figure out when his Father was here, and where he went after that."

Sam nodded. "There's a few tourist type areas we can check out. It might be worth it, especially if we can blend in."

Dean nodded, and glanced at their friend. "Come on, Cas. And stay with us. We don't need you running ahead."

Castiel twitched slightly. "I will endeavor not to run ahead," he said.

"Hey, dude, we get it, it's a chance to find your Father," Sam said. "But stay with us. We'll be right there with you the entire time."

"I wish to…"

"We know, Cas," Dean said. "Let's go, before you get even more excited."

They wandered over, trying to look casual, but the Winchesters were still too in awe of the fact that they were at what they'd always considered to be "their" cathedral, and Castiel was half in some other world, trying to track down his Father.

Well, they could always pretend that they were cousins, and their mothers' maiden name had been Winchester.

They wandered up the street, making their way through the crowd of tourists to the Cathedral. Castiel stopped by a small building next to the Cathedral.

Sam and Dean casually shielded him from sight as they took in the huge cathedral that bore their family name. After nearly five minutes, Castiel looked up. "I know where he went next," he said, his eyes shining. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Where?" Sam asked.

"China," he said. "Near the Summer Palace."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other. "I'd like that," Sam said.

"Sure, why not," Dean said.

Castiel reached up and touched both their foreheads. A second later, they left England and the Winchester Cathedral behind.

Elsewhere, a Being smiled. They needed a break, and he was going to make sure they got one. Let's see. Dean had always wanted to see the pyramids, and Sam would love the Parthenon. Castiel would probably appreciate Easter Island, and he was sure they would all like that little village in Japan with the sword smiths…

He'd keep them busy for a week or so, and then the trail would fade. It wasn't time for him to be found yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of his children.

Author's Note: I wrote this off of internet sources and decade old memories of Winchester Cathedral. I'm pretty sure I got something wrong. If it's horribly wrong, I'm sorry.