Author's note: I'm so sorry this one took so disgustingly long. You were probably thinking it would never come. Well, um, here it is, and better late than never? ...I hope that can be applied here. I also hope it'll be worth the wait. Honestly, I was sort of putting off writing out this last-word of the story, partly because of how attached I've grown to it. It's really kind of sad to see it end.

Well, anyway, I hope you've all really enjoyed it so far. I've had so much fun planning this one out, and I just want to thank each and every one of you for all your support, whether big or small. All the comments left on this were such incredible motivation to keep me going, and were unbelievably kind! Gah, thank you all so much. I'm getting a little bogged down in emotions, right now.

And a big thank you to the reviewers of last chapter!

lesipiratecat - haha, well, I hope this one lives up to all your hopes, too! (Is it bad that I feel really proud that I made you emotional..? Probably. Oh well.)

Reaper aqua - Thank you, sweetie! That means a lot!

Castiel-minion - Aw, thank you so much, love. A big thank you for all your reviews throughout this story, it means a lot that you would so consistently take the time to leave comments on what you thought of the chapters! I'm so glad you enjoyed, I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. (Also, your wish is my command! I hope this is what you were looking for!)

HeyyAssButt - Hahaha! You really know how to butter me up, oh wow. Thank you so much for all your lovely support and wonderful words over the past 26 chapters, I couldn't possibly describe how much it means to me. Lets just hope the 27th lives up to your hopes! I couldn't really include everything you asked for, but I have included some of it. Also, as per your request (but not necessarily part of this chapter, just background/extra information):

What is also in store for Dean and Cas in this universe, not included in this fic:

Cas carried on with his activism, right up to his retirement (and beyond). He and Dean end up moving out of the city (They actually lived a little on the outskirts, but you get the picture) into a little house near the coast. They can hear the sea from their home. Their old house is ceded down to their oldest child, Claire. She ends up marrying a long, dark haired angel called Autumn and the two of them have lots of grandkids for Dean and Cas to come visit. (Side note, Dean does not cry when Claire tells him she is engaged. No. No no no. Well, maybe. Definitely.)

Sam marries a blonde haired girl called Jess he went to high-school with and had some horrible kind of crush on where he couldn't even look at her without going red (Jess thought he suffered from an extremely odd amount of allergic reactions), let alone manage to talk to her. (Dean and Sam have more in common than they would care to admit). They caught up a few months after Cas' recovery, and married a few years later. Dean was the best man at their wedding (obviously) and once again did not cry. Not at all. But that goes without saying.

Jo remains steadfastly opposed to the very concept of marriage for years, thinking that love turns people into utter idiots. (It does, by the way.) That is, until meeting a spunky red-headed angel who makes her blood catch fire. She doesn't admit it to Dean, or Sam, at first - but she's smitten. Utterly and entirely smitten. And her older brothers never stop teasing her for it.

Racism is still something that angels are forced to struggle against. But after the publication of Cas' fourth book, and his interview in which his experience (highlighted over this story) is televised, people explode, as does the cause. Actively struggling against oppression is something that people take part in a lot more, and very importantly, a lot of humans become aware of the fact that they benefit from an unfair system. Castiel becomes an icon of social-justice. He decides quickly that he hates the limelight. But Dean couldn't be more proud of him.

- Haha, thank you!

ashleybeaar69 - Well, I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like this chapter, too! Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, you really motivated me to keep going, even when things got really busy and stressful! All your kind words have meant soo very much to me over the past few months! Thank you thank you thank you, I hope the wait for this chapter was worth it!

Guest - You are very welcome!

iwritepoemsforkicks - Ahhh, this review was too lovely. Thank you so much! I would definitely love love love to write a sequel. This story was so fun. And haha, Dean's a total dork deep down. I loved channelling that into this story, I'm glad that you loved it too! Thanks so much for all your lovely reviews throughout the story, seeing all your comments never fails to make me smile! You're a gift!

guest - As with so many others, your wish is my command. Kids it is! I'm so glad you enjoyed, thanks for reviewing!

mailaine - Hahah, thank you so much, sweetie! All your reviews have been so kind, and I'm glad that you've loved reading the story! I hope you love this chapter, too!

Guest - Kids and fluff, as you wish! Enjoy! Thanks for reviewing!

Woww, I'm getting slightly emotional now. Thank you to everyone who left a comment, whether big or small. It means so much! Thanks for reading. I hope you've liked reading this story as much as I've liked writing it! Enjoy the epilogue!

Disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or any of the characters in it

27.

"Okay, tell me another thing you remember."

Castiel chuckles and drags his thumb across Dean's knuckles, shaking his head gently.

"Another?" He laughs softly, squeezing Dean's hand.

Cas's laughter has always sounded like music to Dean. Whether he's laughing at something dorky Dean has said or chuckling at Dean tripping his own feet, Dean has always loved the sound. He's loved knowing he can make Cas laugh. He's always loved knowing he can make Cas happy. And holy fuck, after so much anxiety and worry where all Dean could think of was the fact that Cas would never remember his husband again, listening to Cas laugh is all that Dean needs to hear to make the tension in his shoulders ease out of him slowly.

"Another." Dean beams widely. Castiel chuckles and shakes his head, pulling Dean's hand to his mouth to press a tender kiss to the centre of his husband's palm.

Dean loves listening to Cas's memories. He loves being reassured of the fact that yes, Cas can remember everything again. He can remember everything about Dean, and he still loves Dean—and maybe he always loved Dean; maybe he just didn't realise it.

"Alright," Castiel hums softly, looking up at the ceiling as though sifting through his mind and figuring out which moment of his and Dean's relationship to bring up, this time. "Remember when we first moved in together, and we had a huge movie marathon? We stayed up pretty much the whole night, just watching crappy eighties films."

"They weren't crappy." Dean attempts to frown indignantly, but he can tell by Castiel's amused expression that he's failed miserably. "They were just—" He tries to supress his smirk. It's really not easy.

"Crappy." Castiel finishes Dean's sentence for him.

"Characterful." Dean corrects, attempting to stop his lips from pulling upwards into a smile. Again, he fails. Cas bursts out laughing.

"Characterful?"

"Characterful." Dean repeats, snorting out a laugh. "And stop taking the piss."

"You make it surprisingly difficult, you know."

"Fuck off." Dean rolls his eyes, unable to supress his grin. "What else do you remember?"

"I remember that you're a total nerd." Castiel chuckles. Dean shakes his head.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're obsessed with making weird references to movies. Most of them sci-fi."

"That doesn't make me a nerd."

"The first time I met you, it was when you were playing video games with my roommate—"

"Cas, everyone played video games back then—you were the weird one by not playing—"

"You say 'back then' as though it were a long time ago." Castiel snorts softly.

"It was a long time ago."

"Six years ago?"

"That's a long time—" Dean attempts to protest, but Castiel barks out another laugh, and Dean cannot help but chuckle along. "Alright, so not that long ago. But still. I've changed."

Cas pulls an unconvinced face.

"I am not a nerd!" Dean exclaims, laughter tumbling off his lips.

"You keep telling yourself that, Dean." Cas grins.

"Fuck off."

…

The look on Cas's face whenever Dean comes to visit him is possibly the most beautiful thing Dean thinks he's ever seen. Definitely the thing that's made him the most happy, out of all of this. It's like the guy actually waits for Dean to arrive, each day—just because he enjoys Dean's company that much. Because he misses Dean that much when he's gone. Holy shit, it makes Dean so happy.

Dean visits every day. Of course he does. How could he not? After work, he comes round and fills Cas in on all of his day, everything that's happened. Sometimes, he's even able to swing by during his lunch breaks. He loves how happy it makes Cas to see him.

When Cas first got his memory back, Dean spent what was apparently just under two hours getting Cas to tell him everything he could remember. After a while, Ellen and everybody else got pissed off with waiting and told Dean to hurry the fuck up and stop hogging Cas, but Dean couldn't help it. Cas was—well, Cas was him again; he was hurt and injured and in a bad way, but he knew Dean, he loved Dean, just like he used to. Maybe more than he used to. Something tells Dean that this whole experience has brought the two of them even closer together than before.

Cas had been in a real terrible way when Dean had seen him collapse on the street beyond their house. Dean had—fuck… Dean had thought his husband was going to die. He thought Cas had died. And he'd seen red. He probably would've killed the prick who did all that to his husband, but someone had been holding him back. All Dean can remember is the sounds of his own sobs and screams in his ears; and Azazel's leering, ugly face, slightly bruised and cut from the damage Cas dished out to him, and the hits Dean managed to throw before someone grabbed his arms and pulled him away. And Dean can remember the ambulance ride with Cas. The way his head pounded. The way he couldn't even think for grief and worry. The way Cas's body just lay so horribly still and limp on the stretcher.

And then visiting him every day he didn't recover. That was torture, too. Dean couldn't help but blame himself. That's all Dean can ever do.

"You look rather lost in thought." Castiel observes softly, grazing his hand up Dean's arm. Dean draws himself out of his daze and turns to look at Cas. His lips are tugged upwards, entirely unintentionally.

"Just thinking." Dean shrugs.

Cas's wounds have healed considerably. The first few days before he came to, he had all manner of cuts across his face. The day he woke up, most of these had healed to the point that they were hardly noticeable, aside from one thick cut across his bottom lip. The injuries to both his wings, however, were a little more serious. Azazel made a real effort to carve him up in any way he could think. He broke both of Cas's feet and most of his toes. He also carved a pretty nasty groove into the space just above Cas's collarbone and into the centre of his neck. And that's not even considering the wounds done to his leg—the blade tore through skin and flesh and bone, splintering Cas's bone pretty severely. Cas doesn't complain, but Dean knows that it's agony for him.

"What about?" Castiel asks. His hand grazes up Dean's wrist, snapping Dean out of his daze again.

"How lucky I am to have you." Dean laughs breathlessly. "Still."

"I'm lucky to have you, too." Castiel points out.

"I meant, how lucky it is that you're still alive. Considering everything. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't made it through."

"I made it through." Cas says softly, squeezing Dean's wrist. "So you needn't dwell any more on it."

Dean sighs softly.

"Yeah, of course. Sorry."

Cas had his interview in the hospital. All things considered, it made the whole ordeal a lot more dramatic—and therefore interesting—for the audience. And it was a pretty huge success as a result. Reporters have been plaguing Dean with questions, and asking to be allowed some time to visit Cas and ask him a few more questions; but the two of them have had a little bit too much of that, lately. They want some peace, first. Peace, then questions. That's what Dean has had to inform them, every time.

"I was thinking," Cas says softly. Dean snaps out of his daydream yet again. He's mind cannot help but wander, today. "When I've recovered fully, and am permitted to leave—we could move on to bigger things. Or, start thinking of moving on to bigger things."

"What do you mean by that?" Dean frowns, perplexed.

"I mean," Cas's lips twitch upwards, "children." He says plainly. Dean's mind draws a numb blank. "Starting a family. Of our own."

"You—"

"Do you remember when we first talked of having children?" Castiel asks softly. "Realistically so, I mean. Do you remember when we first decided that it was the time to pursue that goal?"

Dean swallows and nods.

"It feels like an awfully long time ago." Cas hums gently. "At least to me." He glances up at Dean, his lips twitching upwards into a playful smile.

"You really—" Dean stammers, his throat dry and raw.

"I really want to." Cas nods. "Do you?"

Dean's hands tremble as they are held by Castiel. He can only nod vigorously in response to his husband's question. "Of course. Always—I've always wanted—"

"Good." Castiel beams. "Is it something you'd like to do now, though? Or soon, rather?"

"Yeah." Dean nods breathlessly. "I'd love to."

"Children." Cas laughs softly. The sound is music. It's music, to Dean.

"Children." Dean repeats, his voice cracking in his throat.

Children. With Castiel. Soon.

Three months ago, Dean wouldn't have thought it possible. He thought that with Cas unable to remember anything, anything of Dean, that dream was long dead. Apparently not. Apparently it's very much alive. And Dean—God help him—Dean thinks he's going to explode with joy.

…

"She's so small." Dean beams, the tiny baby cradled neatly in his arms.

"She's a baby, Dean." Castiel chuckles, his eyes creasing at their corners with how widely he is smiling. Dean glances up at Castiel, the grin still set firmly at his features, and rolls his eyes.

"Can I see?" Claire jumps up and down, tugging at Castiel's sleeve. Castiel places a gentle hand on her shoulder to calm her, before picking their oldest daughter up and balancing her at his side, her arms wound neatly around his neck. Claire peers excitedly at the newest addition to the family—Mary. She has dark brown wings, the colour of mahogany or deep, rich coloured tree bark; and eyes of the same colour.

"She's so little," Castiel hears Claire gasp, the tiniest of sounds, as she stares in awe at her younger sister.

"That's what your daddy's been saying all the way back from the hospital." Castiel chuckles, squeezing Claire tightly against his side. She looks up at him with wide, expressive eyes. Castiel glances down and breaks out into an unintentional beam, pressing his forehead against Claire's.

"Can I hold her?" She asks, her voice quiet with apparently overpowering excitement.

"In a little while, Claire." Castiel says gently. "She's sleeping right now."

"Is she tired?"

"Very." Dean grins, bouncing the new-born baby gently in his arms. "And she needs a good rest before she gets to meet her big sister, properly. It's gonna be pretty exciting for the both of you."

Claire reaches out and runs her small fingertips through the downy feathers of Mary's wings, impossibly fuzzy with her infancy.

"How come her wings are so fluffy?"

"She's only a few days old, Claire." Castiel chuckles. "Every angel's wings is like that, at her age."

"Why's that?"

"They're just new and especially delicate." Castiel shrugs, heaving Claire a little higher up into his arms.

"So you've got to be super careful with them." Dean glances up from the baby and into Claire's shocking blue-grey eyes.

"I will, I will." Claire nods absently, staring intensely at her new younger sister. "Will she want to play games with me?"

"When she's a bit older, probably." Dean laughs softly. "For the first few months, babies can't do much other than eat, sleep, and cry."

"That's boring." Claire pouts.

"For you, yeah." Dean nods. "For me and Cas, it's gonna be super stressful."

"Why do people bother with babies?"

"Probably because they're really exciting." Dean chuckles. Claire presses her lips together and shrugs, unconvinced.

"They don't sound very exciting."

"And because they're really cute."

Claire glances down at Mary, her hardened expression faltering somewhat.

"I guess…" She says softly, screwing up her mouth as she stares at the baby. Mary lets out a tiny yawn, her unbelievably small hands bunching into fists. Claire breaks out into a beam at the sight. "Okay," Claire concedes, looking back up to Dean and Castiel. "Very cute."

…

Five years have passed since Castiel lost his memory. Five years since he and Dean took steps in pursuing adoption. Just over four years since they adopted their first child, Claire, at the age of three. Two since they adopted their second, Mary, who was a new-born baby at the time that she was brought into their family. Only a few weeks have passed with the addition of five-month old Ben.

It's all a bit like a dream, for Dean. None of it feels quite—well, none of it feels real. Aside from the nights when one of the kids—now Ben with his crying, more often than not—wakes him and Cas up. Mary gets a lot of nightmares. Claire gets thirsty during the night and apparently it's up to Dean or Cas to get her a drink. Ben—well, Ben is a baby. He has every excuse to be loud during the night.

But Dean wouldn't change any of it—not in a million years. He's too happy for that. Way too happy.

Well, maybe he'd make the kids sleep a little better at night. Dean thinks he's suffering from sleep deprivation.

Cas's hands graze idly through Dean's hair, his nails scraping lightly against Dean's scalp in the way that Dean is sure Cas knows he likes. Dean lets out a soft sound of approval and tilts his head back contentedly as the angel bends down to place a delicate kiss onto Dean's forehead.

"Eugh." Claire wrinkles her nose and turns away from her parents at the breakfast table. Castiel chuckles softly and squeezes Dean's shoulders before taking a seat next to him. Dean continues to attempt to feed a reluctant Ben from where he sits, kicking his feet in his highchair. His jet black wings have flecks of breakfast in them, evidence of the earlier uproar involving him thinking it would be a good damn idea to wear his baby food, instead of eat it.

"Ben—" Dean sighs, attempting to still the hyperactive infant—"—Stay still—Ben—"

"Do you want me to take over?" Castiel chortles quietly. Dean rolls his eyes. "You can help pack Claire's bag for school, instead.

"Alright," Dean nods. "If you really think you can do any better. Claire, are you done with breakfast?"

"Yep!" Claire exclaims, swinging her legs over the other side of her chair and jumping off of it.

After helping Claire pack her bag, Dean jogs back upstairs to find his wallet and nearly collides with Cas on the corridor, who has just finished getting Ben dressed and has the little guy sat safely in the crook of his right arm.

"Sorry—" Dean steers out of the way just in time and avoids potential disaster. Castiel snorts gently. "—Have you got everything?" He asks.

"Yes, Dean." Cas confirms, grazing the back of his free hand against Dean's cheek. "Is Claire ready?"

"Yep," Dean nods. "She was last time I checked. Unless she's lost her shoes in the time it took for me to run upstairs."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Cas chuckles.

"It wouldn't." Dean agrees, laughing softly as he treads into his and Cas's bedroom and spots the car keys, grabbing them and his wallet before heading out again.

"Cas?" He calls down the stairs of their home.

"Yes, Dean?"

"You sure Ellen and Bobby are okay with babysitting Mary and Ben, today?"

"I'm sure." Comes Cas's reply, rumbling with amusement as Dean hops down the stairs. "You know them," Castiel smiles as soon as Dean has reached the base of the stairs. "They love looking after their grandchildren."

"Yeah, I guess." Dean laughs. "But that means you've gotta be on your best behaviour today, Mary." Dean instructs, ruffling their daughter's hair.

"Why?" She frowns up at Dean.

"'Cause Ellen and Bobby are our favourite babysitters. They don't charge anything."

Mary only pulls a confused face in response to her father's answer.

"Don't worry about it, Mary." Castiel chuckles, handing Dean Ben to hold, and picking Mary up. "Your daddy's only teasing you."

"Oh." Mary frowns a moment.

"Are we ready to go?" Dean asks.

"I think so." Castiel nods. "Claire, have you got everything?"

"Um—" Claire frowns a moment, looking about her. Dean snorts and picks up her backpack, holding it out for their daughter. Her face lights up as soon as she spots it and grabs it from Dean. "Yes!" She exclaims.

"Good." Cas's lips twitch upwards.

"Why aren't I being looked after by Granny and Grandpa?" Claire frowns as Cas begins to make his way out the front door.

"You are," Dean answers, pushing softly at Claire's back to indicate for her to move forward and out the house. "Just not now. You've got school. They're gonna pick you up, after school. We're dropping Ben and Mary off at their house, first, then taking you to school."

"And why aren't you looking after us, like normal?" Claire frowns in protest.

"Because," Dean says, placing Mary in her seat in the car and doing up her seatbelt, "your dad and I have got something pretty important going on."

"And what's that?" Claire asks as Dean opens the door of the driver's seat and gets in the car. Dean snorts softly as he glances back at his daughter, frowning indignantly from where she is sat in the back of the vehicle. Claire has always been something of a headstrong kid. She can put on a surprisingly adult voice whenever she wants to, and honestly, it's a little creepy.

"Because your dad is gonna be on the news." Dean beams. "And they wanted to interview him."

"And you have to go, too?"

"They wanted to interview me, as well. But the focus is gonna be on Cas." Dean grins over to his husband as he gets into the passenger seat. "It's very exciting."

"Is dad gonna be famous?"

"Yep." Dean beams, before Cas has time to answer. He grins over to Castiel when his husband frowns indignantly over at him.

"Dean,"

"He's gonna be a celebrity." Dean laughs, starting up the car.

"Dean—"

"You know, kids, he kind of already is."

"Is he?" Claire asks excitedly.

"Yep," Dean grins widely. "He's written books, he's been on rallies and had speeches, he's been on TV before—"

"I'm probably famous for the particular circle that I'm in, Claire." Cas interrupts, before Dean can go any further. "And mainly only famous within that circle."

"Don't listen to him, Claire." Dean shakes his head. "Your dad's being modest. People all over the world know who he is."

"What's modest mean?" Mary asks, looking up from the colouring book she had previously been absorbed by.

"Humble. Not big-headed." Dean explains.

"Dean, you do an awfully good job of embarrassing me. Even in front of our children." Castiel shakes his head.

"Yeah, and I'm telling the truth. And only 'cause I love you." Dean beams. Castiel chuckles softly and rolls his eyes, reaching out his hand to graze the backs of his knuckles against the ridge of Dean's cheekbone. Dean cannot help but grin bashfully at the touch. Even now, he cannot help but be both delighted and embarrassed by the attention Cas gives him.

Like he's reading Dean's thoughts, Castiel glances over to Dean and smiles warmly, setting Dean's heart on fire and causing Dean to bask in the warm glow that sets simmering all over his body whenever Cas gives him that look.

'Love you'. Cas mouths over to Dean. Dean feels his eyes crease at their corners with how widely he beams in response.

'Love you, too.' He whispers back.

...

That's all! I really really hope you enjoyed! As I've said, I've loved writing this story so much, and it's given me such a brilliant opportunity to improve my writing and get word back on it. All your reviews have meant so much, all your love and support have meant even more, and have been so good for me in picking up what have been even the lowest of days. Thank you for sticking at it, for reading and favourite-ing, etc. etc. etc., you are all gems! I cannot wait to post my next story, I hope it lives up to all of your expectations!

(I can't honestly say when my next story will be up. I really badly need some beta readers, so if that's the kind of thing you'd be up for, please say. The story is going to be a medieval fantasy au of Dean and Cas, both princes from different kingdoms, who have been promised to one another. It follows them and how they fall in love over several years. I really hope you all enjoy it as much as you've enjoyed this one!)

Other than that, thank you so much for reading. I really don't know what else to say. Please review, and thank you all! Bye for now! xx