HK: Why does the second chapter always take so much longer than the first? Well, a little bit more of an explanation happened here of what's going on with baby Cas, Michael and Lucifer's relationship and their relationship with the other angels. Whew… a lot of work here. Thankfully I don't think any of the other chapters will be as loaded!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, or anything affiliated with it. I make no money from this, but if I could I would consider it. :P

WARNINGS! Mikifer, some kissing, Gabriel. Silly, silly Gabriel.

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It didn't take long for a kind of comfortable routine to develop around the small house. Every morning Michael woke up first, kicking Lucifer in the shins as he rolled out of the king sized bed they shared.

While Lucifer grumbled and buried his face in the sheets, Michael went down to the kitchen to make something for Castiel and Lucifer. About half an hour later Lucifer would appear, sleepy eyed and with Castiel snuggling against his chest.

He would pass the fledgling to Michael, taking the opportunity to mess up his older brother's carefully styled hair. They would then gravitate to the table, where Michael would feed Castiel and Lucifer would tuck into his own food.

Only once Castiel was fed and Lucifer was flicking pieces of waffle, pancake or French toast across the table would Michael settle himself down to eat his own food. It was at this point that Lucifer would pick up baby Cas, taking him back upstairs to get dressed.

Usually he would make a crack at Michael for being a girl, but Michael wouldn't hear him because it was at this point that Gabriel would bust in, a wide smile on his face as he stole half of Michael's breakfast and wished his big brother a good morning.

From there the days diversified, but on one particular day something completely different happened. Michael and Lucifer had been looking after Castiel for nearly three weeks, and the fledgling was only a week away from his first shift.

Michael was getting worried, cleaning the entire house and moving everything that might possibly harm a child that would soon be learning to toddle.

Exactly one month after his creation, Castiel would grow overnight to the size and development level of a human three year old. It would happen again after the second month, bringing the angel to the level of a six year old.

None of the arch angels were sure why the development was so bumpy, but at least it was fast. Little Castiel was eating almost constantly now, and Michael was still in the kitchen, rocking the baby and feeding him yet another bottle (Lucifer had broken the blender by trying to make smoothies) when the door slammed open and Gabriel dashed in.

The younger arch angel was out of breath, but clearly worried about something. He looked around quickly, spotted Michael, and ran over.

"Raph is right behind me! Where's Luce!" Gabe panted, leaning against his brother for support. Michael shifted Castiel to rest in the crook of his elbow and pointed up the stairs.

"He's getting dressed. You missed breakfast, Gabe," he pointed out.

Gabriel didn't seem to be listening as he turned, running to the door. He stopped in the doorway, turned, ran back, pinched Castiel's cheeks, and fled upstairs.

Michael rolled his eyes, grinning to himself as he began to rock Castiel. The baby hiccupped, clasping the bottle tighter with tiny fists and sucking hard. The oldest angel smiled down at him, rocking the baby. He could hear Gabriel stampeding around upstairs like a whole herd of hippos.

It wasn't often that Gabriel got excited enough to miss free food. Abruptly what Gabriel had said broke through and Michael nearly dropped the bottle. Raphael was chasing Gabriel, into his house! Gabriel had almost definitely pranked his brother, done something to provoke him.

Which meant that Raphael was angry, almost definitely coming over to do something horrible to his little brother. Not that Michael minded, the occasional time spent as a duck seemed to be good for Gabriel, he was a lot calmer when they turned him back.

Michael was more worried about Castiel getting caught in the line of fire. If anything happened to his little fledgling… Castiel started whimpering again as Michael took the bottle from his lips, but Michael hushed him gently, rocking the baby back and forth and singing softly until Cas calmed down.

The little angel really seemed to love the sound of Michael's voice. Michael walked carefully from the kitchen into the hall. If he could just get to Gabriel and kick him out to face Raph's wrath alone… He was just about level with the stairs when the front door burst open and Raphael burst in, dishevelled and covered in water.

He shook the water off his wings apparently without thinking it, his face red with anger.

"GABRIEL!" Raphael was furious, but he froze when he caught sight of the now dripping Michael with a fledgling in his arms. Gabriel himself had apparently found Lucifer, as now the brothers were at the top of the stairs, Lucifer still shirtless. The colour drained from Raphael's face and his mouth opened and closed soundlessly a few times. Finally he found his voice.

"Lucifer! You got Michael PREGNANT?"

XX

"Why does everyone always assume I had the baby," Michael grumbled. The four arch angels had relocated to the sitting room, Gabriel in fits of laughter.

Michael was currently sulking between Gabriel and Lucifer on the sofa, gingerly patting Castiel dry with a soft towel. The baby was sniffling, and Gabriel was alternating between snickering at Michael and playing with the baby.

Raphael had practically fallen onto the arm chair across from them, still largely incapable of speech. Lucifer grinned, leaning over and pinching Castiel's cheek.

"You make a beautiful mother, Mike. I've said it before and I'll say it again." He ducked as Michael snapped the towel at his face. Raphael shook his head. He was really struggling to come to terms with this.

"So… Michael wasn't pregnant?" he asked again in the manner of someone trying to check the facts. The oldest brother groaned, leaning back against the sofa.

"What about me screams "mother"? Really?"

"The way you haven't let the little tyke out of your arms for more than five minutes?" Gabriel offered with a giggle. Michael snapped the towel at him too, and Gabe wasn't quite fast enough. The towel caught him full in the face and he fell back over the arm of the sofa with a surprised cry.

"Shut up," Michael groused, settling back and returning to drying Castiel. The baby sneezed, and the entire room froze. Lucifer's head whipped around.

"Is he okay?" the Morningstar demanded, his voice frantic. Michael was ignoring the entire rest of the room, his attention focused solely on the gorgeous blue eyes that were squeezing shut in displeasure. Gabriel tugged himself back up over the edge of the sofa, glaring at Raphael.

"Why did you have to splash water all over him?"

"Why did you drop an ocean on my head?" Raph demanded right back, suddenly remembering why he had been chasing Gabriel in the first place. He rose from his seat in the arm chair, only to be shouted back down by Lucifer and Michael.

"Sit down, Raph!"

"Don't disturb the baby!" Castiel sneezed again and Michael looked into Lucifer's eyes frantically. "He can't be getting sick!" The panic in Michael's eyes made Lucifer's heart ache, although he couldn't imagine why.

What with the close quarters, they had been forced to spend a lot more time together. Admittedly they weren't fighting as much anymore, not with the threat of tears from baby Cas hanging over them. Instead of teasing Michael about being a girl, Lucifer decided to comfort his brother.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," he said soothingly, resting a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Everyone gets sick sometimes."

"But he's only a week away from his first growth spurt," Michael fretted, already returning all of his attention to the baby. Castiel was whimpering again. Michael tried bouncing him and humming softly, but it didn't seem to be helping.

A single tear dripped from Castiel's eye, and Lucifer spun and punched Raphael hard enough to knock the chair over. Since they were both arch angels he barely felt it, but it was still enough to hurt his feelings.

"What did I do?" He demanded, rubbing his cheek. Lucifer actually looked a little embarrassed as he helped Raph up.

"Sorry… you made him cry," the Morningstar offered by way of explanation. Raphael rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything as he righted the chair for fear of being hit again.

Michael and Gabriel had watched the brief event with wide eyes, but then Castiel sneezed again and Michael's attention was one hundred percent back on the baby. Raphael sighed, shaking his head.

"Should I leave?" He asked. Lucifer pulled a face, still feeling bad about hitting his brother. Michael, on the other hand, had no time for such things.

"Yes," he declared, glancing up to frown at Gabriel as well, "You both should." Gabriel began to protest at once, spreading his arms and declaring his innocence loudly.

Michael wasn't having any of it, banishing his brothers from the house. It got to the point where he was threatening to use a banishing sigil, despite knowing how stupid it was. This was Heaven, the entire place would be emptied as angels were sent rocketing around the universe like ping pong balls.

Gabriel and Raphael cleared out pretty quickly after that point while Lucifer stared at Michael in shock.

"Are you okay, Mike?" He asked a little nervously. Michael turned to look up at him, panic in his eyes.

"What if he dies, Lucifer? If he gets sick, and is sick when it's time for him to shift, what if he dies?" Michael looked and sounded like he was about to cry. Lucifer bit his lip for a second, then sat on the couch and wrapped his arms around Michael.

They didn't do things like that often, but Michael looked like he needed it. This was only proved when Michael leaned into him instead of pushing him away.

"He'll be alright Mike. We've got a week, he'll probably be over it in a few days. He might just be allergic to Raph," he offered, although it was a vain hope. As if to prove it, Castiel started sneezing again, and tears began to fall from those sweet blue eyes.

The baby squirmed, looking thoroughly miserable. Michael was actually shaking, so Lucifer pried baby Castiel from his arms and began rocking him gently. It did nothing to stem the flow of tears and Michael shivered. He leaned in against Lucifer, resting his chin on his brother's shoulder and looking up at him.

"Are you sure?" He sounded so hopeful that Lucifer couldn't do anything but smile at him.

"Of course I am. He's strong. Why don't you go get him some orange juice? Dad used to give us that when we were sick." Michael was already in the kitchen before the words left Lucifer's lips.

XX

As the week passed and Castiel showed no sign of recovery, Michael got more and more worried. He was hardly sleeping, although admittedly that wasn't a big deal as angels had no need of sleep.

He spent the entire night in Castiel's room, standing over the crib awkwardly with his eyes fixed on the baby as he squirmed and slept. After three nights of this, Lucifer came in at four o'clock in the morning and rested a hand on Michael's shoulder.

"Bring him into bed with us. I have an idea." Michael turned frantically at the suggestion. Castiel wasn't sleeping, stuck in the grips of his first cold. The baby was grizzling in his cot and when Lucifer lifted him out he realised the kid had a temper.

Holding Castiel carefully with one hand as he tried to kick him, he took Michael's limp arm in his other one. "Come on, Mike," he prompted gently, "come to bed. We can bathe Cas in our grace." Michael shook his head slowly, pulling his arm from Lucifer's grip.

"We can't use grace on a fledgling, Lucifer! That might only make him sicker!" Michael was frantic, and not thinking particularly clearly. Lucifer sighed, taking his brother's hand this time.

"We won't use it directly on him Michael. We can just fill the room with our grace, and hope that his can take some power from us to heal him. It might work," he pointed out in as reasonable a voice as he could manage.

Michael stared at him for a long moment, considering. Finally he nodded, letting Lucifer tug him from the room.

"It can't hurt," the oldest arch angel admitted in a tired voice. The constant worrying and stress had taken a lot out of him.

Warding the entire house so that no angel could get within a hundred yards without being announced, and warding the doors so that attempted entry by anyone other than Lucifer set the intruder on fire and dumped them on Earth hadn't helped.

Eventually he gave up and let Lucifer lead him into bed. He handed the baby to Michael and tugged the older angel's shoes off. Michael lay back against the pillow, eyes falling shut as he cradled Castiel against his chest.

The baby was still sniffling, but at least he had stopped crying now that Michael was holding him again. Lucifer dropped Michael's shoes to the floor and decided against stripping his brother further. That just got into… weird territory that he didn't have time to think about while Castiel was sick.

He paused for a moment just to look at his brothers as they lay on the bed. It was an impossibly peaceful scene, and a small smile crossed his face. He had never noticed just how beautiful his big brother really was… and in that second it hit him.

He was in love with Michael.

No wonder they fought all the time, he had been denying his feelings and trying to push Michael away. He would have to be eternally grateful to Mike that he had never let him get too far.

Kicking his own shoes off carelessly, he crawled up the bed to lie next to Michael, turning onto his side so he could run his fingers through Castiel's hair.

"Ready?" he asked softly, resting his head on Michael's shoulder. The older arch angel opened his eyes, giving Lucifer a small puzzled frown. Lucifer wasn't usually this cuddly. He usually resisted any cuddling attempts Michael made. He decided to ignore it for now, simply nodding.

"Yes." Despite being tired, he unfurled his wings as far as he could, letting his grace flood the room. Lucifer let out a little mew of contentment as his brother's grace washed over him before freeing his own wings.

Their feathers brushed against each other as their graces mingled, and to their delight the furrows in Castiel's brow softened and for the first time in days a small smile crossed his face. The older angels watched in awe as a tiny pair of fluffy wings slowly opened themselves.

Lucifer reached out slowly to gently stroke a finger against the fledgling's wings. They fluttered under his touch, and Michael began to rub the baby angel's back where his wings met his skin. "So beautiful," he whispered in an awed voice. Lucifer nodded, unable to take his eyes off the brand new limbs.

"So soft… were mine that soft?" He tilted his head up to look at Michael, tearing his eyes away from Castiel's downy wings. Michael looked surprised by the question. A soft smile crossed his face and he lay back down, looking at the ceiling as the room filled with grace.

"Yes… I used to sneak in while you slept and stroke them," he admitted. Slowly, a little worried that Lucifer would tear away at once, Michael slid his arm under the younger angel's body and wrapped it around his shoulders.

When Lucifer didn't object, Michael slid his fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and began to massage him. Lucifer sighed happily, snuggling closer and softly stroking over Castiel's newly formed wings.

"I never knew that…" he muttered sleepily. Michael's smile widened a little and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.

"There's a reason for that…" He continued to stroke Lucifer's hair. The Morningstar chuckled, sliding up the bed to kiss Michael softly on the cheek. Michael turned his head towards him in surprise, and Lucifer smiled at him.

"I love you Michael," he whispered, staring into his brother's eyes. A wide smile spread across Michael's face and he leaned in to seal their lips together.

They were careful to move nothing but their lips so as not to disturb Castiel, who had finally fallen asleep, but the room began to hum and vibrate as their graces flared, wrapping more tightly around each other.

A third, small grace brushed against theirs and they pulled apart, staring at little Castiel.

A small smile was on the baby's sleeping face as his still developing grace wound its way around his brothers'. The older angels smiled down at him, their hands meeting and fingers entwining across his back.

Lucifer leant down again and rested his head on Michael's shoulder, gently teasing at Castiel's grace with his own. One small hand reached out and grabbed the front of Lucifer's shirt, tugging him closer. Lucifer tried not to smile even wider as he pressed himself more fully against Michael.

XX

Barely an hour after they fell asleep, Castiel woke up again coughing and crying. Before Lucifer could fully wake up Michael rolled out of bed, bouncing the baby up and down.

"Shh, come on baby, don't wake Luci up…" He glanced over at the bed where Lucifer groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Too late." He cracked an eye open, giving Michael a half smile. "Would you like me to take him?" His voice was sleepy but amused. Michael shook his head, smiling down at him.

"I've got him." He wrapped his arms more closely around Castiel. Lucifer sighed and scooted over to the edge of the bed. He had terribly messy bed head and looked ridiculous but Michael didn't smile.

"Mike, you haven't as much as blinked in hours. Get some sleep, I can take him down to the kitchen and make him something." He got to his feet, leaning in closer and pressing a soft kiss to Michael's cheek as he pried Castiel from his hands. "I love you," he said again, stroking his fingers through the baby's hair.

Michael avoided his eyes, climbing back into bed.

"Thank you…" he muttered as he pulled the covers up around him. Lucifer paused for a moment to see if there was anything else forthcoming. Apparently not. Trying hard not to be offended he turned, closing the door softly behind him as he took Castiel downstairs.

XX

Almost twelve hours later Michael finally pulled himself out of bed, stumbling down the stairs in his rumpled jeans and shirt. Lucifer was sitting on the table with Castiel, finger feeding him paste made of mashed potatoes and gravy. The younger angel turned to face Michael, his expression stony.

"Morning." He looked Michael dead in the eye, not letting him look away. Michael frowned back.

"What's eating you?" He walked down the rest of the stairs and turned into the kitchen. He couldn't understand what Lucifer was thinking.

They had been so close the night before… admittedly he had been tired and a little fuzzy, but he thought his kiss had been answer enough. What had changed between last night and this morning? This morning! He could vaguely remember Cas waking them up.

Lucifer had said he'd take care of him, so Michael had gone back to bed… Sleep was definitely amazing, he was going to suggest that Dad make it mandatory for his next creation. And then… oh. Lucifer had said "I love you".

It may be the second time he had said it, but it only just hit Michael that it had happened at all. Ignoring the hostile glare Lucifer was now giving him (not that Michael could blame him, he hadn't exactly been gallant) the older angel stumbled over the table and fell into a chair.

Lucifer reluctantly let his frown fade to a curious look. Michael wasn't usually so distracted. After a few awkward minutes of silence, Michael looked up at Lucifer, wonder in his eyes. "You said you loved me…" Lucifer rolled his eyes, a smile fighting its way onto his face in spite of himself.

"A bit delayed, but yes." He grudgingly admitted. Michael didn't bother to answer, rising from his seat and kissing Lucifer passionately. Lucifer may have muttered something about mixed signals into the kiss, but he wasn't complaining all that much. Michael pulled back just enough to talk, his eyes still shut.

"I love you, Lucifer," he said breathlessly. Lucifer's eye were wide with surprise at the revelation, but a sniffle from baby Cas pulled them apart. Lucifer quickly began feeding the baby again, avoiding Michael's gaze. He was blushing, and Michael couldn't stop a wide smile from steeling across his face.

He had made Lucifer look all flustered and adorable. This was definitely something he would take full advantage of later. Possibly while Gabriel was around if Luce annoyed him. Then again, both Gabe and Raph had apparently seen this coming for a lot longer than Michael or Lucifer had.

He put it out of his mind for now. For the first time since Castiel had sneezed, Michael felt like things would be alright. Maybe he had gotten a little crazy… Call it… damn. Mothering instinct. Michael was going to kill Gabriel.

XX

Castiel recovered from his cold the morning before he was due to shift. His temperature finally came down, he stopped sniffling, and he ate a thermometer while Michael and Lucifer were distracted "celebrating" the news.

Michael practically went into labour in his panic, but Cas didn't seem at all bothered by it. Lucifer was going to try sticking his fingers down the baby's throat, but Cas seemed to decide that this was a perfect opportunity to show off his teeth by biting Lucifer as hard as he could.

Michael had decided that this was a good sign, although Lucifer's swearing suggested it was anything but, and lowered the wards. Approximately two seconds later Gabriel was bouncing up into Castiel's room, another young angel in tow.

"Hey guys!" He called cheerfully. Lucifer rolled his eyes, still not in the best mood ever.

"What were you doing, waiting outside the door?"

"Pretty much," Gabriel chirped, tugging the young angel over to see the baby, "I take it Cas is better since Mike is off def con three?" He punched his big brother companionably on the arm. Michael rolled his eyes, shoving his little brother away.

"His temperature went down this morning."

"And then he ate the thermometer," Lucifer pointed out in a bitchy tone, watching the young angel curiously, "and bit me. He's having a great day." The baby giggled as if to prove his point. Gabriel snickered, glancing at Michael before picking the baby up.

"Are you causing trouble Castiel?" he cooed, bouncing the baby. Castiel gave Gabe his best sunny smile, eyes bright and happy. "Making your big brother proud already," Gabriel declared happily, cuddling the baby tightly. Michael sighed the sigh of the incredibly put upon.

"Just get the thermometer back, Gabriel," he said slowly, like he was talking to someone with brain damage. Gabriel rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Shifting until he was holding Cas in the crook of his arm and therefore had his right hand free, he began to tickle the baby's stomach.

Either his recent illness had loosened the baby up or he was just very happy to see Gabriel again, after so long with just Michael and Lucifer, because he laughed for the first time. Gabriel beamed with pride at the sound but didn't stop going.

Slowly his fingers dissolved into the baby's stomach, coming out a moment later with the thermometer. Castiel didn't seem all that upset. Lucifer took the thermometer back and pinched Castiel's cheek as he passed to throw it out.

Michael had turned his attention to the new angel in the room, a quiet looking girl with red hair who was barely older than Castiel. Like most of the younger angels she was quiet and restrained, nothing like the original four. She was just standing in a corner and waiting for them to acknowledge her.

A perfect dutiful little soldier.

Michael raised an eyebrow at Gabriel.

"Why did you bring the kid?" he asked, watching the angel from a distance. He didn't know her, wouldn't have been able to pick her out of a crowd, and didn't really care. He had too many siblings to get to know them all personally.

Gabriel shrugged and passed Castiel back to Michael, going over to put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"This is Anna," he said proudly. "I'm teaching her how to have a life." The young angel scowled up at him but didn't say a word. Lucifer raised an eyebrow at him and Gabriel sighed. "Alright, she caught me hanging out at the edge of your wards and asked what I was doing."

Lucifer snickered and tossed the wrapper the thermometer had come in at his brother.

"That sounds more like it. Hanging out with the cannon fodder Gabe?" He shook his head, a wide smirk on his face. The young angel, Anna, flinched but still remained silent. Michael shot his brother a reprimanding frown.

"Don't call them that Luce… these are our siblings." Of course Michael knew that Lucifer was right, that these younger angels were nothing but foot soldiers compared to them. Of all the arch angels, only Gabriel ever bothered to see them as something else, something more.

Most of the young angels were shy around the original four, much like Anna was now, and wouldn't say a word for fear of offending them. A few were over ingratiating little suck ups like Zachariah, which only reinforced Lucifer and Michael's negative opinions of their brothers and sisters.

Gabriel was beginning to wonder if that might not be part of the reason Dad had given them Castiel to raise. If they could form an emotional bond with one of the lesser class of angels, perhaps they would acknowledge that the rest had feelings too. Not likely, given what they were doing now.

Gabe wandered back over to Michael, towing Anna like a reluctant balloon.

"Come meet little Cas, Anna. He's your newest baby brother." At first Michael wasn't willing to let this stranger get too close to Cas. Until Gabriel pinched him. With ill grace he moved the baby so that Anna could see him. The little redhead's eyes widened as she looked at the fledgling curiously.

"Will he be in my garrison?" she asked, looking up at Gabriel. Her voice was surprisingly soft, and she reached out a small hand to touch Castiel's. The baby grabbed her fingers at once and her face lit up in a wide smile.

Anna had only shifted into her full form a few weeks before Castiel was born, and she still retained the wide eyed innocence of youth. Gabriel grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Probably, baby girl," he told her. "Take care of him real good or Michael will kick your butt." He glanced up at Michael, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Anna didn't seem able to tell when he was joking as she sobered, a small frown taking over her face.

Michael didn't much care.

It had only just occurred to him that he wouldn't be taking care of Castiel forever. The fledgling wasn't truly his. In just another two short months, Castiel would be old enough to take care of himself, and they wouldn't have any reason to continue this illusion of paradise.

It was a sobering thought, and a quick glance at Lucifer confirmed that the Morningstar had just come to the same conclusion.

The smile dropped from Gabriel's face as he looked from one brother to the next. He had intended to make Michael and Lucifer more friendly towards the younger angel by bringing Anna to see them. It seemed that he had failed dramatically.

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HK: With any luck the cuteness will take over for the rest of the fic and we won't need to worry about such stress. :P