PLEASE READ: Hey guys, good news! I got some free time to write, so here's chapter 8, ahead of time. :) Early updates for the win! Hope you enjoy this chapter. There's a heavy helping of affectionate father!Dean and father!Cas. I'm debating introducing a new ship/pairing in the next chapter, more info on that in the author's note at the end...I'm gonna need feedback from you guys on whether or not you want that. Actually I need you guys' advice on a lot of stuff pertaining to the next chapter, so read this one and then please read the end-note and leave your answers to my questions in a review. Thanks again for reading, everyone...I love you guys so much, thanks for supporting this fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its characters. All rights go to Eric Kripke, Jeremy Carver, and the CW network. I make no money from this work of fanfiction.

Dean woke up to a large, shiny black wing slapping him in the face and giving him an unfortunate mouthful of feathers. He sat up in bed, blinking and rubbing his eyes blearily as he sees Cas asleep next to him, one wing twitching slightly and the other partially unfolded. Apparently Cas moves his wings in his sleep. Good to know.

Since he got his Grace back, Cas has taken to sleeping on his stomach, at least until his wings are fully grown in again and not so sensitive. Dean gently pushes both of the wings back down into their folded position, smoothing the feathers down gently as he absently strokes the surface of one wing.

Cas blinks his eyes open, turning to smile gently at Dean before snuggling back down into the pillows and blankets. Dean presses a soft kiss to his hair before ruffling it gently, and Cas yawns and stretches, rolling over a few times before sitting up in bed.

"Good morning, Dean," he says. "Is Angel awake yet?"

Dean yawns. "I don't know, want me to go check?"

Cas nods and Dean slides out of bed and pads across the floor quietly, opening the door into the little adjoining bedroom that Angel's been staying in. She's sound asleep, her tiny chest moving up and down steadily with her breath, her blonde ringlets splayed out across the pillow. It's the cutest damn thing Dean's ever seen, and in that moment he's overcome with a heady rush of parental love and affection. He just loves her so much, he's so proud of her. She's the sweetest little thing he's ever laid eyes on, and he wants nothing more than for him and Cas to raise her up happy.

He notices that Cas has joined him in the doorway, smiling at their daughter with the same affection that's probably shining in Dean's eyes. Cas reaches for his hand and laces their fingers together, resting his head on Dean's shoulder.

"She's beautiful," Cas murmurs quietly. "Thank you for this, Dean. For everything."

Dean smiles down at Cas. "I'm so glad we decided to adopt her. She's perfect. I can't wait for her to grow up and be a badass like you."

Cas smirks at him. "Don't give me all the credit. She gets some of it from you, too, you know."

Dean laughs before cupping Castiel's jaw to kiss him gently. Cas winds one arm around Dean's waist, his other hand tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. After a moment they break apart. Castiel truly is an excellent kisser, but Dean likes to think it's because he had an excellent teacher.

Angel stirs softly, moving one of her legs and effectively kicking off the blanket. Cas walks over towards the bed quietly, hardly making a sound, as he grabs the blanket and pulls it back up over her, kissing her forehead gently before returning to the doorway, and Dean.

"She'll be waking up soon. She went to bed a little early last night," he whispers. "We should go get cleaned up so that we can go get breakfast when she wakes up."

Dean nods, following Cas into the bathroom.

By the time Angel wakes up, Dean and Cas are cleaned up and dressed in T-shirts, jeans, and leather jackets, laying on the bed together watching the news, each with a mug of coffee in their hands. Angel wanders into their room in her pajamas, clutching her blanket and teddy bear, her little pink wings fluttering behind her.

"Hey, Angel," Dean says. "Come on up."

Angel squeals with delight. Even though she's always invited up onto the bed with her parents in the morning, somehow it never loses its novelty.

Angel climbs up onto the bed with them, worming her way in between Dean and Cas on the bed, as Dean switches the television from news (which could potentially contain sad things to disrupt little minds) to an old Dragon Tales rerun, and Angel moves to the foot of the bed to be closer to the TV as she sings along to the little theme song. Dragon Tales is one of her favorites.

Cas gets up and comes back with Angel's clothes- black jeans, a pair of socks, her little pink toddler-sized converse, and a white T-shirt that says "Daddy's Little Angel" on it. Angel watches Dragon Tales while Cas wrestles her into her clothes, finally reaching her shirt and contemplating how to get her wings through it, preferably without making slashes in the back of the shirt, before finally just deciding to snap his fingers and then ease the wings through the material of the shirt. Dean frowns at him, confused.

"How the hell did you do that?" he aks, perplexed.

Cas smiles. "I just used my Grace, Dean. For the first time in five years, I used my Grace. I shifted her wings so they can phase through fabric. I'm going to do the same with mine, it's uncomfortable to have them folded under my shirt."

Dean smiles. "You...you used your Grace. It's back. Your wings are finished growing, you have your Grace back. Cas, you're an angel again!"

Cas' smile lights up the room. "I...I'm an angel again. Dean, you're right. I...I can fly."

Dean laughs and jumps up to hug Cas, who is practically tearing up. It's been so long, and now Cas can join his brothers and sisters as an angel again and Dean is so, so proud of him.

"I love you, Cas," he whispers against Castiel's neck, feeling more than hearing Castiel's gravelly laugh.

"I love you too, Dean."

They break apart, and Dean manages to get one chaste kiss in before Cas is shoving him off in favor of picking Angel up and hugging her.

"Daddy, daddy, Papa's an angel again! He's got his wings back! Papa, we can both be angels now! Show me your wings, Papa!"

Cas laughs and kisses her on the cheek before setting her down on the bed, shoving off his leather jacket and then taking off his T-shirt, turning to show Angel the glossy black feathers that catch the light like a gasoline rainbow. She coos with happiness and reaches up to yank a feather free. Cas spins around, glaring at her.

"That's not nice, Angel. Don't do that."

She just smiles and turns the feather over in her hands. "Sorry, Papa," she says. "I just wanted to keep one of your feathers. It's so pretty."

Cas grins. "Okay, I guess I can forgive you. They are pretty, aren't they?"

Angel nods, weaving the feather through one of her ringlets before turning back to Dragon Tales. Presently, Cas snaps his fingers and his wings ripple for a moment, before he slides his shirt and jacket back on, the wings phasing right through the fabric and folding neatly on his back. He runs a hand through his hair before scooping Angel up and carrying her into the bathroom, to brush her teeth ad fix her hair. Dean smiles, flicking off the television and placing his empty coffee cup on the nightstand. Cas has his Grace back, after all these years. And for the time being at least, 2/3 of his family are essentially Angels. And he couldn't be happier.

Cas and Angel return a moment later, Angel's hair plaited neatly in a french braid, Cas' feather tucked behind her ear. She flies right over to Dean, hovering in the air a moment, her little pink wings beating in a steady rhythm of up and down. Cas turns to Dean, smiling sheepishly.

"If, um...If you'd be all right with it, I was wondering if I could maybe...fly to breakfast?"

Dean laughs, kissing Cas on the head. "Sure, babe. Fly free. Stretch your wings." Cas smiles at him and disappears with a swoosh of wing-beats and the sharp crack of ozone in the air. Dean grins. He had forgotten that the ozone smell of Angel magic meant that Cas always smelled like rain.

He follows Angel out the door and down the hallway, arriving in the breakfast room a moment later. Cas is already seated next to Sam, who has this look on his face like he has a secret he can't wait to share. Dean knows that look, and if Sammy doesn't spill over breakfast Dean's going to corner him in the hallway and make him tell, because Sam's smile currently contains the brightness of about a thousand suns and he hasn't seen Sam this happy in a while.

Dean makes his way over to the side of the table where Cas is sitting, and Angel has already claimed the chair right next to him, so Dean takes the chair on the other side of her, essentially sandwiching Angel between her fathers. Charlie and Kevin are having a rather deep conversation about Pokemon at one end of the table, and Anna is listening patiently , apparently extremely amused, judging by the look on her face, from her spot sitting next to Charlie.

A second later, Chuck appears in his chair at the head of the table.

"Morning everyone," he calls, receiving a chorus of "Hey, Chuck" and "Morning" back. He turns to Castiel, smiling brightly.

"I see you're back to full capacity, Castiel," he says, and Cas smiles and nods.

Anna hears their conversation, and squeals happily, jumping out of her seat to run over and give Cas an awkward hug from behind. "Congrats, Castiel! They're beautiful. What's it like, finally having your Grace back?"

Cas grins at her. "It's wonderful, thank you, Anna. I'm glad to be back, Father."

Chuck smiles. "I'm proud of you, Castiel. We have a lot to discuss at breakfast this morning, but before that, we have to wait for Gabriel and Balthazar to arrive. I though I should mention that I left you with a few of your human mannerisms- you know, simple things. Sleep, eating, your sense of humor, your appreciation for sex. Also it should still be pretty easy to get you drunk."

Dean almost chokes on the orange juice he had been drinking, and Cas laughs. "Thank you, Father. I noticed that I could still sleep and I had been wondering about that. There are some things about being human that are particularly enjoyable. Food, sleep, and sex are among them."

Dean flushes an angry shade of red. It's not like this conversation is awkward at all.

Chuck laughs. "It's all right, Dean. You forget that I invented everything. Including sex."

Dean chuckles. Goddamnit, as awkward as he was, Chuck was actually a pretty great guy.

"Well, um, thank you for the Angel Cas 2.0? I'm not really sure what to say to that..."

Cas just laughs and reaches for Dean's hand. "I second that. To be honest, I was...somewhat dreading becoming an angel again. I worried that I would return to my usual mannerisms and...not be able to experience emotions anymore. Angels are designed to take orders, not question them."

Chuck just smiles sadly at Castiel.

"Of course not, Castiel. Dean has shaped your soul significantly. He taught you to feel, and to question, and frankly I'm glad. Your love for Dean has altered your very being, it's irreversible. I also like to think that you've become a lot more fun at parties, but maybe that's just me. You always were the serious one, Castiel. I'm glad to see that Dean has loosened you up a bit."

Dean just laughs. That's probably the closest to father-in-law approval he's ever gonna get. Cas smiles softly at Chuck.

"Thank you, Father. I like to think that me meeting Dean in the first place was your design, and if it was, thank you. He's perfect."

Dean almost chokes on his orange juice again. Angel families, man. This isn't the first time Cas has used not-exactly-manly adjectives to describe him (gorgeous, beautiful, perfect, etc.) but over time he's grown to appreciate them. It's not that Cas means to make him feel like a girl, it's just that it's honestly how Castiel thinks. He sees the world in terms of grace and beauty and he expresses it as such. Dean's still getting used to the philoshopy, but it's growing on him. It depends on who's asking (no way would he admit this to Sammy) but Cas is pretty damn beautiful himself.

It took Dean a while to get used to the pet names, too. For a long time, Cas was just...Cas. Nothing else felt right, even once they had started dating. It had started with angel. Even after Cas fell, that's how Dean thought of him. My angel. He started slipping it into conversation, offhandedly. "Hey angel, pass the pie." "Be back soon, angel." "Goodnight, angel." Cas picked up on it, and after a while, he had confronted Dean about it.

"Dean, why do you keep calling me angel? I'm human now."

"Term of endearment, Cas. It's a pet name. Like baby, or sweetheart."

"Oh. I still don't understand, though. I'm no longer an angel."

"But you used to be. And to me, you still are. You'll always be my angel, Cas."

Cas had looked up at him, peering through dark lashes. "Oh," he had whispered, a quiet hush of a word.

After that, nicknames had been easy, and they'd just sort of fallen into place. The offhand "babe" at the dinner table, a whispered "darling" late at night. And, most recently, Dean recalls, "feathers." So far, it's one of his favorites.

Dean is yanked out of his thoughts by the sharp crack in the air signaling the arrival of Gabriel and Balthazar. They both take their places at the table, and once everyone's seated, Chuck stands up and claps once, and conversation falls silent.

"Good morning, everyone. We have some stuff to talk about today. First of all, I'm pleased to say that Castiel's wings are back in working order, so a round of applause for the reinstated angel, please."

Everyone stands up and gives Cas a standing ovation, even little Angel. Sam slaps Cas on the back and murmurs an excited "Congrats, man."

Once the table falls silent and everyone is seated again, Chuck smiles brightly. "We have some other news to share. Sam, Amelia?"

All of a sudden, Sam's excited secret-keeping face makes sense, and Dean breaks out grinning at the wonderful news.

Sam and Amelia stand up, and Sam clears his throat. "We've got some pretty great news. Amelia?"

Amelia grins. "I'm pregnant!"

The table goes up in applause and excited congratulations. Sam and Amelia just look so damn happy. Dean smiles at Sam. "I'm proud of you, Sammy. That's great news. You're gonna be an awesome Dad."

Sam just beams at Dean. "Thanks, man."

Cas turns to Amelia. "Congratulations, that's wonderful! You're both going to be great parents." Amelia smiles back at him.

"Thank you, Cas. I'm so excited!"

Chuck grins at her. "We all are. My blessings are with you, Amelia."

The excitement dies down a bit, and Chuck stands up again. "The trouble downstairs with Lucifer has been solved, so technically, you can all return home, if that's what you'd like to do. If you'd rather stay up here, though, then that's perfectly fine also. You're not overstaying your welcome or anything, I just wanted to make that clear. You're welcome up here anytime, all of 're wonderful guests, great company. Humans are refreshing every once in a while. I like to check in with you guys and make sure you're all doing okay."

A chorus of laughter meets his remark, and then, with the announcements over for the time being, everyone finishes their breakfast relatively quickly, and then Chuck snaps his fingers and clears the table like usual, and the people begin to trickle away, going back to whatever it is they were doing earlier. Chuck stops Cas on their way out.

"Castiel, your old job is always open, if you feel like returning. If you'd rather return to your job on Earth, that's fine too. Or we can find you a different job in heaven. My point is that whatever you choose to do, the decision is always yours, Castiel. Welcome home."

Cas smiles and hugs Chuck briefly. "Thank you, Father. That's very kind of you."

Chuck just smiles. "Anytime, Castiel. Now run along, don't let me keep you from your family."

Cas thanks Chuck again before running a few steps to catch up with Dean and Angel. Cas taps Dean on the shoulder.

"Now that I can fly again...what do you say we take Angel and go spend the day in Belgium?"

Dean squints at him, confused. "Belgium? Why Belgium? I mean, I'm all for free flights on Angel Airlines, but Belgium?"

Cas smiles. "Belgium is a wonderful city, Dean. Come on, it'll be fun."

Dean looks at him, still confused, before finally laughing. "Okay, fine, why the hell not." He runs a few steps ahead to grab Angel out of the air, scooping her into his arms.

"Papa says he's gonna fly us to a country called Belgium. Do you wanna go spend the day there?"

Angel nods, excitedly. "That sounds really fun, Daddy. Can we?"

Dean just smiles. "We sure can, Princess. C'mon."

He carries her back to Cas, and then Cas reaches for his hand, and as soon as their fingers are intertwined the world is spinning around them. There's the whoosh of wing beats and the crack of the ozone smell of rain, and then when Dean blinks open his eyes they're standing on a cobblestone bridge over a beautiful river, historic buildings all around. The air smells much cleaner than he's used to, and it's probably around noon, the sun high in the sky and people bustling everywhere. It looks like a little town out of a storybook. Dean turns to Cas.

"Dude, where are we?"

Cas smiles at him. "Ghent, Belgium. It's a lovely little city. One of my favorite places, actually. Angel, while we're here, please don't try to fly. Your wings technically still exist but they're between dimensions right now, and they only work in heaven, so you'll just end up falling and hurting yourself. Come on, follow me."

Dean blinks a few times, still a bit disoriented. He sets Angel down on the ground, holding her hand as they follow Cas across the cobblestone bridge and down a charming little alley, with shops lining both sides. Suddenly a delicious smell wafts across the air, and Dean sees Castiel beckoning from outside a little shop with a sign that depicts...french fries?

Dean scoops Angel up and jogs over to Cas, following him inside the store, which was most definitely the source of the delicious smell.

Cas turns to smile at him. "Fry shop. Belgium is famous for their french fries. World renowned, actually." He turns to the young woman working the counter and orders fluently in a language that sounds a lot like English, except with more hard vowels, and a lot of K's.

The woman scoops amazing looking golden brown french fries into a large paper cone before filling a small cup with something that looks like mayonnaise. She hands them both to Cas, who thanks her and passes her some foreign money. Dean follows him back out the doors of the shop and down the street to a little cluster of metal cafe tables.

Dean grins at Cas. "I didn't know you spoke Belgian."

Cas laughs. "Belgian is not a language, Dean. They speak Dutch here. Actually, French, Dutch, and English. But primarily Dutch. You forget that I am literally millenia old. I'm fluent in every living language and almost every dead one, too."

Dean just blinks a few times. Damn. Sometimes he forgot exactly how badass Cas was as an angel. Human Cas wasn't exactly someone he'd want to get in a fight with in a dark alley either, but as an angel he was just downright intimidating. Not to mention sexy.

Dean grabs a few of the french fries and takes a bite. "I'll be damned," he mutters. "These are the best thing I've ever eaten."

Cas smirks at him. "Better than pie?"

Dean just laughs, taking another bite. "Better than pie. What's the mayonnaise stuff?"

Cas scoops some onto a short, stunted french fry and pops it in his mouth. "Belgian mayonnaise. It's almost like horseradish and ranch mixed with mayonnaise. Try some, it's good."

Dean takes Castiel's advice and with the creamy, tangy sauce the fries are even better. He's beginning to wonder why he even bothers with American food at all, and by the time the enormous fry cone is half empty, he's vowed that he will never eat diner fries again.

When the cone is almost empty, Cas gives it to Angel, saying she can have the rest, and Dean watches with amusement as she seizes it and finishes the fries at almost superhuman speed. When it's empty, Cas gets up and chucks it in a little trash can before getting up and pointing down one of the streets.

"Ghent is a fairly small city. It's beautiful, but it's really rather tiny. We can probably walk around the whole thing in a half hour. Care to join me?"

Dean just smiles and stands up. Cas reaches for his hand and Dean internally panicks a little. They've done it before, but holding hands in public usually only gets them suspicious glances from strangers, and that's not really something he wants to go through again.

Cas senses his discomfort. "Dean," he says, reassuring him. "We're in Europe. They're much more liberal and accepting here than in America."

Dean just smiles and gives Castiel's hand a small squeeze. Angel skips over to Dean's other side, and he picks her up and sets her on his hip, wrapping his free arm around her to hold her steady.

Cas leads the way, touring them around the city and pointing out beautiful historic buildings. They pass a clocktower, several cobblestone bridges over the small River Ghent, tons of little chocolatier shops, loads of wonderful statues, perfumed apothecaries and soap shops, and finally, an expansive and beautiful monastery. It almost resembles a castle, with a tall wall all around it to keep the monks in seclusion. Visiting hours are closed for today, but Cas smiles and leads them across the little cobblestone street, to a beautiful historic church named Saint Bavo's Cathedral. They walk inside, and instantly Dean is struck by the atmosphere. The air smells cool and fresh, and the room is filled with absolute silence. There are a few people there, tourists with cameras, walking slowly and admiring the beauty of the carved marble statues and the stained glass windows. The place is massive, with small booths off to the sides of the church dedicated to specific saints. The area in the center for pews is massive. Even Angel recognizes the sacred aura of the church, her little footsteps growing quiet, her breath coming in awed little gasps at the sheer beauty of the cathedral. They wander slowly through, admiring the art and sculptures of the building. Dean squeezes Castiel's hand.

"This place is beautiful," he whispers. Castiel smiles at him.

"I know. It's my favorite cathedral on earth. It's one of the reasons why I like to come here."

They pass by a strange tall tower with two staircases, one on each side, and a platform at the top, embellished with marble statues. Dean frowns in confusion. "It's beautiful," he whispers to Cas. "But what exactly is it?"

Cas laughs quietly, a soft huff of breath. "It's a truth pulpit, Dean."

Dean nods, not exactly knowing what a truth pulpit is, but not exactly wanting to ask, either. Somehow it feels like merely speaking in a place this beautiful will tarnish it somehow. He's spoken to God himself and it was less impressive than the sheer beauty of the artistry. He can sense the faith and dedication put into the cathedral by those who built it, and it's astonishing.

They make their way to the front of the church, where there is a massive half-dome of stained glass that makes up the ceiling, almost a hundred feet above their heads. The sun is hitting it just right and pools of rich colored light dot the floor. Dean has to stop and catch his breath for a moment.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Cas," he whispers, and Cas smiles at him.

"I've wanted to share this with you for a long time now, Dean. I love you."

Dean smiles and squeezes his hand gently. "I love you too."

They make their way around the other side of the church, following the U-shaped walking path and passing more booths dedicated to the saints. Soon, they find themselves back at the doors, where two priests are standing and talking quietly in Dutch.

Cas bows his head to them slightly, speaking to them in Dutch. The priests both smile and murmur a few words back quietly, before Cas leads Dean and Angel out the doors and back onto the street.

"I thanked them and told them it was beautiful, they said thank you for visiting, God bless."

Dean smiles and presses a quick kiss to Castiel's hair. "That's the most beautiful place I've ever been, Castiel. Thank you."

Cas turns to smile at him peculiarly. "You called me Castiel. You haven't used my real name in quite some time now."

Dean shrugs. "It felt appropriate. Thanks, Cas. I mean it."

Cas just smiles. "I'm glad you liked it, Dean. Are we ready to go back?"

Dean nods, and as he hears the wing-beats and smells rain, he closes his eyes in anticipation and enjoys the whirling sensation of flight, hoping he can convince Cas to bring him back again someday.

I really, really liked how this chapter turned out. I've actually been to Ghent, so all the details in this chapter are true, and I can never appreciate an American french fry again :P I'm glad I got to draw from my personal experience of visiting Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. Seriously, go look it up on google images. Pictures don't even begin to do it justice but it's the most beautiful place I've ever been on earth, and I'm not a religious person, but the feeling of quiet serenity you get just from stepping foot inside the place is wonderful. I really want to go back someday. Okay, I mentioned in the author's note at the beginning that I might be starting a new ship. That ship is Anna/Charlie. I know Charlie has a girlfriend back on Earth, but I have a storyline that will explain how Anna/Charlie would fit in with that. I don't know if you guys would like to see that as a ship, but if you guys are okay with it, then I would love to write it. Also, I feel like my author's notes are way too long, but there's so much I wanna say to you guys...what do you guys think? And finally, name suggestions for Baby Winchester? I'll be picking the name from your reviews! Please answer the 3 questions in a review.

1. Would you like to see Anna/Charlie as a ship?

2. Are the author's notes too long?

3. A name for Sam and Amelia's little Winchester? (1 girl and 1 boy, first and middle please)

Chapter 9 should be up soon!