Cas in Real Life 3 of 17
Title: Cas in Real Life: 3 of 17
Author:teagirl_donna
Rating:PG-13
Genre: AU- (My take on a Cas/Dean version of Dan in Real Life)
Pairing: Dean/Gabriel, Dean/Castiel (This happens... This chapter!!! ), and Sam/Gabriel in the end.
Spoilers: None
Warnings: AU
Word Count: WIP
Summary: Castiel is a writer; his wife died several years ago, and is too busy taking care of three daughters. Or is he? Every fall his family gathers at the family beach house to close it up for the winter. Dean Winchester works at a classic car garage owned by some guy named Gabriel. Dean, being Dean, slept with the boss, and got asked to spend a long weekend at a beach house, but he didn't expect Gabe's whole family to be there.
Authors Notes. I am excited to be posting again it’s been a long while! I have to thank the wonderful siennis , she did a fantastic job editing this. She rocks! This chapter Castiel makes it home, then Dean and Castiel meet. Slight damsel in distress warning.
New? Give me a try from Chapter !
Chapter 3
At two thirty Castiel started to pack the car up. While he had a family car, it was not a minivan. He had some self respect. It was sensible car, and got good gas mileage.
He sat down on the bumper and cooled off with a bottle of water. On the other side of the garage was a covered car.
Castiel had known his wife most of his life, but he could never figure her out sometimes. Right before she died, unbeknownst to him, she had bought a 1972 Buick Skylark, not in good condition. The day after her funeral a guy name Bobby turned up with the car and a note from her.
“I know you all too well my angel. You will get so focused on something until it is almost unhealthy. So, I bought you a little project. Take time each day and work on this. Just a bit at a time. You need a little time to yourself, especially with three daughters. Do you like the name? A skylark, I couldn’t think of a more perfect car for my family of angels. I love you all,
-Mary
P.S. There better not be a “In memory of” sticker on the back of that car. I’m no Dale Earnhardt!”
She knew him alright, but he didn’t think that taking care of his kids was unhealthy. He loved the car. It was a classic, but he couldn’t make himself to work on it, let alone get rid of it. So there it sat in the garage. One day there would be a reason to work on it.
Castiel looked down at his watch it was 3:00 and he was late. He mentally kicked himself. He shouldn’t have been daydreaming. He threw the rest of the things in the car and locked the house up tight.
He drove straight to Ariel’s school to pick her up. It was 3:20 by the time he got through the school traffic. She was sitting on the stairs waiting for him.
“You’re late,” she said.
“I know. I’m sorry. Let’s go pickup your sisters. We should hopefully still get to the beach house for a late supper,” said Castiel heading off to senior high and middle school.
When he got there it was 4:10, and he could only see Dina. She ran up to the car and said, “You’re late.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Where’s Z?” said Castiel looking around seeing if he had missed her.
“You were late so she walked over to that coffee shop, Yummies,” said Dina.
Castiel glared, and said, “Come on, get in and we’ll go pick her up.
The coffee shop was a local haunt for teenagers as it was only a few blocks away from the school. Traffic did not seem to be his friend today and it took him ten minutes to get there. He parked the car.
“Stay here, I’m going to get your sister. Be back in a minute,” said Castiel heading off toward the door.
The front of Yummies was all glass. Castiel looked through to see if he could see Z. Yes, he found her, but she was making out with Damon. He tilted his head slightly to the left and squinted his eyes. People in the coffee shop started to notice him and began to laugh. Z looked up to see Castiel staring at her. Castiel pointed at her and then beside himself and mouthed, “Now!”
She quickly grabbed her bag, kissed the boy one more time, and headed outside.
“Ezra Novak what is the one rule I ask you to follow today?” said Castiel trying to keep his tone neutral.
“Not to date till I’m in high school, but that’s a whole year away! I love him,” said Z so innocently that it shocked Castiel.
“You love him. You don’t even know the boy. How long have you known him?” asked Castiel. He was trying to give the benefit of the doubt, but she was only 14 years old! It was not possible that she could be in love.
“Umm, about two weeks, and I do love him!” said Z with convection in her voice and crossing her arms over her chest.
Castiel looked around the parking lot. They were making a scene. He led her to the car and said, “Logically you can not be in love after two weeks. A relationship needs to be nurtured and explored, and this can not happen in two weeks. You are not old enough to understand love. This is the reason I have asked you to wait to date till you are in high school. Now please get in the car and we will head out. We are late enough already.”
They climbed in the car and Z started to quietly cry. Damon walked out the door, and Z saw him she waved at him and mouthed, ‘I love you’ over and over again as tears ran down her face.
Castiel quelled the feeling to roll his eyes at Z’s antics, but at the same time he never liked to see his girls cry. From the back seat Dina was giving him the glare of death, his glare of death. Ariel the fixer of the family was rubbing Z’s back while she handed her a bottle of water.
Four and half hours in a car with all his daughters mad at him, well isn’t that a box of kittens as Dina would say.
As the miles ticked by the girls settled in. Z put her ear buds in and curled up against the window. Dina pulled out her homework and began to work on it. Ariel pulled out a drawing tablet and began to draw.
It took Castiel a few minutes to notice that she was drawing him. Over the next hour she drew a portrait of him. She finished and passed it up to him. The picture was a side drawing. He was tight lipped and had blank look to his face, but his eyes seemed sad.
“Why did you draw me so sad Ariel?” questioned Castiel.
“That’s how you look the most of the time,” she explained. “Even now.”
He handed the tablet back to her and said, “I think your sisters are mad at me.”
“You’re a wonderful father, but sometimes you’re not enough of a dad,” said Ariel.
Castiel let the subject drop and the girls drifted off to sleep one by one.
Was he really that bad of a dad? He was trying his best. The mini vacation would be good for them all even if it was with his family.
Several hours later they pulled up to the beach house. It was much later than he expected. He ended up having to carry Ariel up the stairs. The house was dark and quiet so he opened the door and went in. His Mom was reading in a comfy overstuffed chair. She took off her reading glasses, smiled, and got up and took Ariel from him and headed off to the girls’ bedroom. Dina and Z followed, neither too awake.
Castiel went back out to the car and grabbed the bags, taking the girls’ to their room. The girls grabbed theirs and went to change and go to bed. His mom had taken off Ariel’s shoes and changed her into bed clothes. She was tucking her in as Castiel dropped off her backpack.
“She’s almost getting to old for me to do this Castiel,” she whispered, turning off the light and heading off to the kitchen with him in tow.
The coffee pot was still on, and she poured them each a mug. “So tell me what’s been going on lately while I have you to myself,” his mom said.
“Today, I caught Z making out with a boy, Dina told me I didn’t smile enough, and Ariel said I was a good father, but not enough of a dad,” he said gruffly.
She laughed over the top of her coffee. “So the normal day in the life of a parent,” she said.
“I guess I need to spend more time with them,” he said, trying to figure out how to solve the problem.
“Child, you can’t fix them growing up. Now when you wake up too early, I’ve left the money for the morning papers and doughnuts by the front door. Try to get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning,” she hugged him and headed off for bed herself.
He headed down to the basement. It was his old room and it hadn’t changed much over the years. It had always looked like a library when it was his, now it actually was, but with a bed in it. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed.
At five thirty in the morning he rolled over to… but then climbed out of the bed and headed off for the shower. The hot shower woke him up and cleared dreams and memories from his mind. He got out and dressed in jeans blue collared shirt and a sweater. When he walked back through the house to grab the money his mom had left for him, he caught Maxie watching the early morning cartoons.
The little boy turned to him and whispered, “Hush, mommies are sleeping.”
He grinned at the little boy and nodded an ok at him. He picked the money up and headed outside. It had gotten cold over night so he popped back in and grabbed his trench coat from the coat rack.
He headed for a local dinner that had the paper and the best doughnuts in the area. He pulled up and walked in, taking his usual booth. Carol, the waitress for as long as he could remember, smiled over at him and said, “The usual hun?”
“That would be great. When I leave I’ll need five dozen doughnuts to go as well,” he said and got up and got all the papers.
He spent the next few hours reading over the papers and eating a leisurely breakfast. People would stop at his table and say hello to him and ask to pass their regards to his family.
At about nine thirty the Johnson boys walked in. They were about the age of Dina and Z. The boys were acting weird. He checked the date to see that it was Founder’s Day.
One of the old high school football traditions was to raze the tourist on Founder’s Day. Most just pulled silly jokes, but the Johnson boys looked like trouble. Hopefully they didn’t do anything illegal.
He was about to leave when a man walked in. Castiel couldn’t help but notice him. He was wearing a leather jacket and old pair of blue jeans. He had short brown hair, and the greenest eyes he had ever seen.
Carol said, “Sit anywhere sugar. I’ll be with you in a bit.”
The man nodded and head to a booth at the end of the dinner. The Johnson boys at that moment ran into the guy and knocked him over, right in front of Castiel. Castiel caught the man, trench coat flaring around him and shouted at the boys in a no nonsense tone, “Billy Johnson stop right there! Bring the man’s wallet back.”
Castiel righted the man and glared at the boys. The man had a shocked look on his face. Billy handed the wallet over to the man.
“Thank you Billy and I will be speaking with your mother. Now run along and stay out of trouble.” Sometimes if you talked to a teenager like they were a child they got the point.
“Sorry about that. Don’t worry his mother will deal with him. It’s a Founder’s tradition to give the tourists a hard time, but they usually don’t steal,” he said, shaking his head. “Castiel Novak,” he offered, holding out his hand.
“Oh, thanks for all that, I’m Dean Winchester,” said Dean shaking his hand.
Dean smiled at Castiel, and for the first time in a long time, Castiel gave a sincere smile.
“I hope you don’t mind me letting the boy go, but if you want to press charges we can call his mom,” said Castiel, still smiling.
“It’s no problem; he actually reminds me a lot of himself. Wait… his mom?” asked Dean, confused.
“Josephine Johnson, the police chief.”
“Ouch, those boys are going to regret picking my pocket. My old man was a sheriff. I get having to prove yourself to the In Crowd, but it was never worth the punishment,” said Dean.
Dean looked around trying to find a seat but during the debacle all the seats had been taken, “Why don’t you join me,” said Castiel.
“Not a bad idea,” said Dean sitting down.
Carol walked over to them and said, “Well that was some excitement! What can I get ya sugar?”
“I’ll have bacon, eggs over easy, a piece of apple pie, and a cup of coffee,” said Dean.
Castiel quirked an eyebrow at him.
“What! It’s not a good day unless you start it with pie. Plus I have to go break up with someone. Not going to be a good day no matter what happens,” said Dean.
“Don’t worry there’s other fish in the sea,” said Castiel. He looked out the window, and suddenly he felt playful. “And you’re in the right place to do so.”
Dean seemed shocked that Castiel might be hitting on him. Then Castiel smiled and motioned out the window with his head at the ocean. Dean gave a heartfelt laugh and smiled at Castiel.
After that the flood gates opened and Dean and Castiel talked about anything and everything. Like how Castiel had gotten through his wife dying, to having no idea how to take care of three girls. Dean talk about having to take care of his little brother because his dad was always at work, and how his mom had died in a fire shortly after his brother had been born.
An hour or so later Dean cell phone went off.
“Hello? Yep, I’m minutes away. See you soon,” said Dean and hung up. He threw down a twenty and put his coat on.
“I’m sorry. I’ve kept you too long,” said Castiel, paying quickly before following Dean out of the dinner.
“It was really good to talk to you. I don’t really connect with people. Here,” said Dean taking one of the newspapers Castiel was holding and writing down his phone number.
“Call, or don’t, but call,” said Dean coyly. He walked over to a classic 1967 Impala.
“Nice Impala,” said Castiel.
“Why didn’t I meet you a year ago,” sighed Dean, shaking his head. He paused. “Ah screw it.” He whipped around and grabbed the lapels of Castiel’s trench coat, pulling him in, and kissed him. It was surprisingly tender and over way too soon.
“Bye Cas,” said Dean, pulling back, diving into the car and driving off.
Castiel touched his lips where he had been kissed and looked down at the paper where the phone number was written.
Love had fallen in his lap and his name was Dean Winchester.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me a comment of what you thought!
Chapter 4 this way...