Dean started awake, his eyes snapping open and his breath catching. His room was still dark and he could feel Cas breathing beside him. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, trying to regulate the air flow in his lungs. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was just past three. He'd come home around one. He sighed heavily and dropped his chin to his chest, willing away the images of his nightmare.

Blood was everywhere. In his mind, on his hands. Not literal, of course. He could still feel the pulse of Michael's body before he fell lifelessly into Dean's arms. He could still feel the kick of the gun as the bullet impaled itself into Michael's skull. He could still see the grim acceptance of death in his eyes as blood drained down onto their chests.

Dean jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. He glanced down and made out eyes glinting slightly in the dimness. Cas sat up beside him, his hand moving to rub gentle circles on his back.

"Nightmare?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." Dean's voice was just a hoarse whisper.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

They sat quietly for a long time before Cas' other hand found its way to Dean's cheek and turned his face towards him. He slowly traced his fingers over the side of his face and Dean leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. He let Cas make the first move, knowing that Cas was still a bit on the rocks about their relationship even though they hadn't talked about it yet. It was sort of an unspoken thing.

Cas kissed him softly. It was like they were starting over, rediscovering each other's lips and tongues. The movement of his mouth was so familiar to Dean, but it was brand new at the same time. It was a slow kiss, one filled with too many emotions to voice, and it lasted a long time before Cas pulled away slightly, panting against Dean's lips.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever leave me like that again."

Dean paused, his eyes opening as he met Cas' burning gaze. "I won't." Cas sighed and shut his eyes. "Are you mad at me?"

"I was scared and worried. I knew you wouldn't just let it go, though. You needed to tie up the loose ends," Cas whispered in reply. He pressed another kiss on Dean's lips.

"Castiel…" Dean breathed. It sounded almost like a prayer. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Cas shushed him with another kiss. "Go back to sleep."

Dean laid down facing Cas, their faces close together and their legs intertwined. He felt Cas' fingers in his hair and on his skin and he drifted into a much needed sleep.

. . . . .

The sun slowly rose and Cas was still sleeping when Dean woke up again. He quietly slipped from the bed and out of his room to head downstairs. He could hear hushed voices talking and found Mary and Gwen sitting together in the kitchen. They both looked up when he entered.

"Morning," he said in greeting, heading to where he saw a fresh pot of coffee on the counter and pouring himself a cup.

"How are you feeling, honey?" his mother asked, watching him.

Dean shrugged. "Fine." He sat at the table beside her and looked over Gwen. There was a small bandage on one side of her face, but other than that she looked okay. "How's your leg?"

"Better. Your mom's a goddess with stiches." She cracked a smile and Dean had to wonder just how many times she'd needed to get stiches in her line of work.

"Surprising since it's been quite a few years," Mary mused with a half-smile.

Dean was about to say something when a phone suddenly started buzzing somewhere and Gwen reached into her pocket. "That's Rufus," she said to Mary. "I'll take this, you fill him in." Her eyes glanced over to Dean once before she stood and limped her way out into the main room, lifting the phone to her ear.

"Rufus?" Dean asked dubiously, sipping his coffee.

"He's an old hunter friend. Gwen called him earlier and he's on his way into town." Mary turned in her chair to face him. "Dean, really, how are you? And don't just shrug and say you're fine again."

Dean dropped his eyes momentarily. "I feel like shit. I just killed three guys and I have no idea how I'm supposed to deal with that right now."

Mary put a hand on his forearm and said, "It's hard at first, but you'll come to terms with it. They hurt you, and they hurt Cas and your brother, too, and countless more before you all. Now they can't hurt anyone else."

Dean just nodded miserably. Gwen reentered the kitchen at that moment and took her seat back on the other side of the table. She shoved her phone in her pocket and met Mary's eyes.

"He'll be here in a few hours. I'll hitch a ride with him back home when we're done."

"Done with what?" Dean asked.

The two women looked at him and then shared a glance. Gwen sighed slightly. "We can't just leave the bodies for anyone to find. And we need to give Christian a proper hunters' burial."

"Oh…" Dean trailed off and they were all quiet for a moment before he turned to his mother. "Did Jess and Brady stay the night?"

Mary nodded. "They're sleeping in Sam's room. I think they—"

She broke off as they heard someone cry out Dean's name and saw Cas slide around the corner into the kitchen. He was panting with wide eyes and Dean jumped to his feet and went to him, a little startled by the way Cas grabbed his arms when he was close enough.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"I…nightmare… I woke up and you weren't there," Cas said quickly.

"I'm right here, don't worry." Dean let out an oof as Cas suddenly barreled into him with a hug. He glanced over at his mother and she made a shooing motion with her hand, a faint smile on her lips. They left the kitchen as Dean heard Gwen laughing quietly. He stuck his head back around the wall to give her a glare and she just curled her lips fondly.

Six months later…

It was Cas' birthday and Dean had been planning for months. John gave him a pat on the back and Mary kissed his cheek. They both took turns telling him to have fun and be careful and not to get into too much trouble. Dean just grinned and slung his duffel over his shoulder before he headed out the door and into his beloved Impala, which sat on the driveway looking shiny and new. The smile never left his face as he drove to Cas' house and let himself in with the key that Anna had given to him the week before.

The house was quiet when Dean entered, and he knew that Zach was away at camp, where Sam and Gabe also were. He'd talked to Zach weeks ago about this and, with much persuasion from his parents and Anna, Cas' father had eventually agreed to it. It was a long battle, but Dean was glad. Even if he hadn't given his permission, Dean still would have gone through with his plan, but it was nice knowing that Zach was okay with it.

When Dean got to Cas' room, he found his boyfriend still asleep, his limbs sprawled out and his hair a tangled mess. Dean itched to run his hands through it and kiss him awake, but he had a plan, and he was sticking to it. As quietly as he could, Dean retrieved Cas' own duffel bag from his closet and started packing in various articles of clothing, taking a quick trip to the bathroom down the hall to pick up some other necessities. Cas was still sleeping as Dean took the bag put it in the trunk of his car and then went back to sit on his bed.

He sat quietly, just watching Cas, for a long moment before he reached over and brushed his hair off of his forehead. It was getting long and Dean wondered when Cas had last gotten it cut. He was okay with it though. Cas rarely ever did anything with his hair and Dean loved that perpetual just-got-out-of-bed look that he had.

Cas made a noise and he slowly blinked his eyes open, that blue gaze finding him. "Dean?"

"Rise and shine, baby, we've got a long day ahead of us!"

Cas yawned and rubbed his eyes. "What's so special about today?"

"Did you seriously forget your own birthday?" Dean laughed quietly as Cas sat up. He pulled him in for a short kiss and couldn't help the smile that stuck on his face at the sleepy surprise on Cas' face. "I figured since we didn't really do anything for our one year, and it's your birthday, we could do something special."

"Like what?"

"Get up and get dressed and you'll find out." Dean stood and headed out the door, laughing to himself at Cas' baffled expression. "I'll make you breakfast while you shower." With that said, he went into the kitchen and did just that.

Half an hour later the two were out the door and sliding into the Impala.

"So where are we going?" Cas asked once they were pulling away from his house.

Dean looked over at him and grinned.

. . . . .

Six hours later they were pulling into Singer Salvage and Cas had a look on his face of utter shock. He'd been periodically asking where they were going for the past five hours, but Dean had refused to tell him, and his expression was so priceless that Dean was glad he'd been so secretive about it all.

"Dean…?" Cas asked, getting out of the car and looking around the junkyard with something akin to awe.

"Come on. I can already taste Karen's apple pie and I'm starving." Dean led him around to the front door and they rang the bell. Karen answered it within moments, wiping her hands on the front of the apron she was wearing.

She smiled at them. "Great timing, your pie just came out of the oven."

"You're the best," Dean told her, hugging her tightly. Man, he'd really missed her, and it'd been nearly six months since he'd seen her at Christmas.

"Cas! It's great to see you again," she said, ushering them inside and giving Cas a warm hug, too.

"Yeah, you too," Cas mumbled, still seeming surprised. Dean gave him a bright smile and they followed Karen into the study where Bobby was sitting behind his desk like usual.

"What took you idjits so long? We were expecting you an hour ago!" he asked gruffly, rolling out into the room in his wheelchair.

"Bobby!" Karen admonished him, moving towards the kitchen.

Dean just grinned. "Yeah, good to see you, too, you old fart." He glanced at Cas, who was watching the whole exchange with amusement written in his eyes. "Your memory's not getting so bad that you don't remember Cas, right?"

"Of course I remember him you—"

"Bobby!" Dean heard Cas laugh at Karen's shout.

"Yeah, yeah. Boy, you're still as skinny as the last time we saw you. Good thing you're here for a week. Karen's cooking will soon fix that. Just look at me." Bobby gestured at his gut and they laughed.

"Pie is on the table, boys!" Karen suddenly called out.

Dean's stomach grumbled and he grabbed Cas' wrist, dragging him into the kitchen and to the steaming pieces of pie that awaited them. Dean moaned when he took his first bite and Karen grinned over her shoulder at the wink he sent her way. She moved to stand behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

She leaned down and whispered into his ear, "I've got a basket in the fridge all packed for tonight."

"Again I say, you're the best," Dean replied around a mouthful of pie. Karen just smiled and straightened.

"Oh, and happy birthday Cas," she said, taking a seat beside them for her own slice of pie.

. . . . .

That night found Dean and Cas laying together on a blanket in the middle of an empty field just a few miles from Bobby's place. Aerosmith was playing softly through the open windows of the Impala behind them. Karen had packed them a dinner of sandwiches, chips, and she even slipped in a beer for each of them, something that Dean needed to remember to thank her for.

They were looking up at the stars above that shone down on them. The only light was from those stars and the half-moon that hung in the sky, but they didn't need much light. Dean was happy just how it was. He was happy that it was just him and Cas with some good music and the sound of crickets chirping in the grass.

"Dean, you're the greatest boyfriend," Cas suddenly said, making Dean turn his head to look at him.

"I know," he replied with a grin. Cas laughed and punched him lightly in the arm, making Dean mutter a faked, "Ouch!"

They were quiet for a long time until Cas spoke again. "When I was younger, Anna and I would sometimes sit out in the backyard and look at the stars. We couldn't see that many though because of the city lights. But out here… you can see it all."

Dean watched him, eyes tracing the profile of Cas' face and memorizing the way that the moon reflected in his irises. He propped himself up on an elbow as Cas pointed an arm up into the air.

"That's Hercules. And there's Draco. That's right next to the Little Dipper. And the Big—"

He was cut off as Dean leaned forward and kissed him. The hand that was in the air slowly dropped down to land on the back of Dean's neck.

"I love it when you talk about geeky stuff," Dean muttered, moving so that he was nearly on top of Cas and kissing his jaw.

Cas just laughed. "Is that why you cut me off?"

"No. I just wanted to kiss you. Keep talking." Dean's lips found their way to Cas' neck and he mouthed silent words against his skin.

"I could tell you about Sagittarius. It represents the centaur Chiron. He was a—mmf—an archer, and a physician. Dean!" Dean laughed and nipped at his collarbone. "Hercules shot him and—Dean really!"

"No, no, I wanna know what happened to him." Dean was laughing even as he stuck his hands under the hem of Cas' shirt and started pulling it up so he could kiss Cas' stomach.

Cas groaned, only half in annoyance. "He was poisoned by the arrow and—ah!—and couldn't cure himself, so he decided to take Prometheus' place in Tartarus. Fuck! Jupiter put him in the stars for that. Happy now?"

Dean chuckled as his mouth hovered over the button on Cas' jeans. "Not yet." He glanced up to see Cas looking at him with a stubborn expression and Dean crawled back to meet his mouth in a hot kiss. He smiled against Cas' lips. "I just like hearing your voice," he said, voice low.

Cas reached for his shoulders and suddenly Dean's back was being pushed into the ground, Cas sitting on his hips. "And I like hearing yours," he said with a dark laugh, his hands already moving to pull Dean's shirt off. Dean threw his head back and grinned.

"This is supposed to be your birthday present, Cas," he protested.

"Mmm, and you've been sitting here all night just waiting to be unwrapped."

Dean just laughed in reply.

Meanwhile, 400 miles away…

"So are they really dead? Is that really what happened?" Ash asked once Sam had fallen silent.

"Dead and gone. Burned and buried." Sam nodded.

"So what are Dean and Cas doing now?" Jo was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, watching him expectantly.

Gabe, who was sitting with Sam's arm around him, grinned. He took a lollipop out of his mouth and said mischievously, "They're having fun in South Dakota."

"How do you know?" Garth asked dubiously, popping another marshmallow into his mouth.

"Because Dean's been planning it for months and he and my brother's girlfriend were talking about it just a couple of weeks ago before we left to come here." Gabe met Sam's eyes and they shared a secret smile.

"Did you know this story?" Chuck looked at Gabe with suspicious eyes.

Gabe just shook his head. "No. I knew who we were talking about, but no one ever told me the details of what happened."

Adam suddenly spoke up. "Won't Dean be mad that you told us, Sam?"

Sam just shrugged. "Doesn't really matter now. At least as long as none of you ever says anything about it to anyone else." He let his eyes pass over each of them in turn, giving them all the warning.

"We won't, we promise," Garth said quickly, his eyes wide.

"Why'd you come back here if all that shit happened anyway?"

Sam turned to Adam. "Well, it's all over now, and Gabe really wanted to come." He looked down fondly at the boy beside him and Gabe blushed. He was such a child, even though he was the same age as the rest of them. But Sam secretly hoped he would never grow up. "Plus, it gave me an excuse to come see how Gwen was doing."

Jo made a gagging noise. "Jeez, you two are the worst."

Sam laughed and Garth chucked a marshmallow at her. "I think they're cute," he said. Chuck joined Sam in laughing and soon they were all holding their sides. Nobody was quite sure why they were laughing, but it felt nice, and Sam was just happy that everything truly was over.

Dean had Cas. He had Gabe. Everything was back to normal. And he was just fine with that.

A/N: Holy assbutt it's finally over. Okay, not really, because I want to do a couple of time stamps, mostly just for Cas' birthday that I totally skipped over in SiC7A and then Christmas, and maybe a couple of other things. I really love this verse. I really do. And I'm sad that it's ending... but that's why I have time stamps in mind!

Anyway, it's been such a long ride and I'm so thankful for all of you faithful readers who have given me feedback and said such wonderful things about this! Thank you everyone who read this and commented, all of you who have been with this since the beginning and those of you who are new, too. All my love to you! And (not to give myself any self-promotion, of course not) if you liked this, be on the lookout for some time stamps in the near future, or even the next big fic that I'm working on to be put out soon. The witch one that I've been saying I've been working on for the past six months and I really haven't been *cries*. This fic took so much of my time. But it was so worth it.

Enough of my rambling. Thank you all! I hope you enjoyed!