Take Two Chapter 26
Cas let himself into the apartment and was greeted with an armful of Dorothy the second he stepped in through the door.
“Cas!” she cried out, laughing as Cas lifted her up into the air.
“Hey, Dotty!” Cas laughed and hugged her tightly. “Where’s your Daddy?”
“Checking on the turkey,” Dot answered, hugging him once more before slipping down Cas’s body. “I’m watchin’ the parade!”
“Awesome! Let me see if Daddy needs any help and then you can show me which float is your favorite, okay?” Dot nodded and bounced away from him, back into the living room and the large window that overlooked the city. Although they were a couple of blocks over, being on the upper-most floor of the building gave her great view of the gigantic character balloons sailing above the parade route. He could hear the sounds of the TV broadcasting the parade as well and knew Dot would see all the floats and marching bands on the TV screen.
“Hey,” Dean greeted as Cas made his way into the kitchen. Cas smiled and reached for Dean. He gripped the back of his neck and pulled Dean in, pressing their lips together.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said against Dean’s lips. “The subway was so backed up because of the parade… I got there and the issue had already been resolved as well.” He sighed stepped back from Dean to look at the pots and pans Dean had all around the counters and stove. “Are you feeding an army?” Cas laughed, inhaling deeply. “Smells delicious.”
“Well… I couldn’t decide on what to make… Dotty is starting to try more things too, so I didn’t want her to miss anything.”
“Green bean casserole, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and candied yams?” Cas named off each dish as he opened the pots and pans, his smile widening with each new discovery. “And I bet if I open the fridge there will be every kind of pie known to man?”
“No! Not… every kind,” Dean laughed, pushing Cas’s arm playfully. “I couldn’t find cherry and there wasn’t room in the oven to make one.”
“I’ll make you a cherry pie for Christmas,” Cas promised with a smile and Dean kissed him before shoving three dinner plates into his hands.
“I knew I loved you for a reason.”
Cas chuckled and took the plates to the table, grabbing the wine glasses from the cabinet and setting out three. He figured Dot would want to have a fancy ‘grown-up’ glass for her apple juice too.
Dean hummed happily checking on the dishes again before he slipped into the living room again.
"Hey, ‘lil Miss, any awesome floats yet?" he asked as he moved to his daughter’s side.
"Daddy! Look! You can see Princess Sophia!" Dot squealed, pressing her face against the window. Dean chuckled and ruffled her hair as he sunk down to his knees beside her.
"Oh… I see her!" He smiled and Dot leaned against his arm, looking over his shoulder at the TV before back to the window.
Cas watched them for a moment, feeling his heart swell. This was going to be his… hell this was his! He slipped back into the kitchen to get out the silverware and bring some of the dishes to the table.
Dean watched the parade with his little one for a bit longer before he went back to the kitchen to take care of the food.
"I think all that's left is the turkey and gravy..." Cas said when he saw Dean and gave him a smile. "Do you want to carve it?"
"Me? It's your place, Love," Dean winked.
Cas laughed and leaned over the island to kiss Dean softly. "Alright, why don't you get Dot and meet me at the table?"
"Oh, damn, I handed myself the harder job, didn't I?" Dean laughed.
"I'm a slave driver," Cas smirked and gave Dean a playful shove. "Hey! Are we ‘talking’ to her after dinner?"
"I really think we should ... She and I must prepare ourselves for the ‘slave driver’ to move in with us. It's gonna be a huge change for her. It makes me a little nervous."
"Oh shut up." Cas threw a hand-towel at Dean who ducked it, laughing. Cas shook his head and turned his attention to the turkey. As he sliced into it, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips.
He was nervous too, more nervous than he'd been in a while, about telling Dorothy what was happening. If she even showed the slightest amount of discomfort at the thought... Cas couldn't help but think that would be it. He loved her, loved both of them, and he knew Dotty was in love with him too. But this was a huge step they were taking, and she needed to be on board.
Dean moved to the window, and leaned down to kiss his daughter’s blond head. "Are you coming over to join us for dinner, my bear?" He asked, watching her face with amusement as she actually contemplated whether to keep on watching the parade and miss out on dinner or have dinner and miss the mammoth balloons.
"Do we have mashed potatoes?" she asked, tearing her eyes from the window to look up at her Daddy.
"Oh, Princess, of course there's mashed potatoes. Like we would have Thanksgiving Dinner without mashed potatoes."
"Okay, I'll come then!" She agreed happily and jumped down from her chair to scamper into the dining room. Cas was already there, pulling out her chair and helping her climb up into her booster seat.
Dean smiled at Cas happily, watching him help Dotty. This was going to be their future, this was the future he was gladly looking forward to. No, actually, it was their present because this was happening.
Cas sat down in his chair and carefully pushed a glass of apple juice over to Dorothy. "It's a ‘big girl’ glass, so you have to be careful, okay?"
Dorothy nodded and looked proudly at her Dad. "Look, Daddy!!! Just like yours!"
"Yeah, I see Cas spoiling you," Dean chuckled.
Cas gave Dean a wink and popped a bottle of champagne, pouring them each a glass. "Happy Thanksgiving!" Cas smiled, clinking his glass with Dean's and then Dorothy's before taking a sip.
"We have to have Thanksgiving like this every year!" Dorothy exclaimed, taking a big gulp of her juice before pushing her plate towards Cas to fill.
“Oh yes, that would be awesome. But maybe next time we could do it back in Kansas, huh?"
Cas gave Dean a smirk and looked at Dorothy as he served a big scoop of mashed potatoes and some turkey onto her plate.
“Oh yes! Would you do that, Cas? Would you come home with us for Thanksgiving next year?"
"You know, Dot… I think I could do that." Cas paused and met Dean's eyes before he continued. They'd talked about having this conversation after dinner, but if this wasn't the perfect opening, Cas didn't know what else would be. "And maybe even some other dinners too, not necessarily holidays, what do you think about that?"
"Will you come to visit us a lot, Cas?" She asked before she took another sip of her juice.
"No, little Bear," Dean started and looked at Cas. "Cas won't be visiting us anymore."
Instantly Dot looked confused, eyes darting back and forth between her Dad and Cas before she turned watery eyes to Cas. "Are you breaking up with us?"
Dean instantly regretted his words, and yet he thought his daughter's question was the sweetest thing ever, or at least the 'us' part of it was, the rest was heart-wrenching.
"Oh, honey! No," Cas said quickly, reaching for her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "No, I am not breaking up with you or your Daddy... In fact... I was thinking that maybe, if it was alright with you, I could come and live a little bit closer."
Now her green eyes widened in delight and she gasped, "Like back with Uncle Chuck?"
Cas's heart gave a flutter at the fact that Dot already thought of his family as her own and had taken to calling his dad 'Uncle Chuck' even after that disastrous dinner. Cas smiled and glanced over at Dean before he shook his head again. "I was thinking more like... with you and Daddy."
Dean reached for Cas's hand under the table and held it gently while he studied Dorothy's face as the information sank in. This was going to be too important for all of them, and it scared Dean.
Dotty was quiet for a long moment, her bright green eyes searching the faces of both her father and Cas for a moment as if she was trying to see if they were trying to trick her. Finally, she turned her entire body to Castiel and whispered, "Really?"
"Really," Cas whispered back, nodding, and then he had a lap full of over-joyed, high energy as she scrambled down from her booster seat and launched her small body into Castiel's arms.
"Really? You're really coming to live with us? You're really, really going to be there like every day and every night and all the time?"
Dean's face was all grin, but his eyes were damp. He couldn't have been any happier than he was right now. His lover was going to move in with them, and his daughter was looking forward to it. That's what he was thankful for tonight.
"Yes, I am," Cas laughed, squeezing her tightly before sliding her back into her seat. "I'll even be there for Christmas."
"When exactly are you going to come?" Dean asked. He couldn’t remember if Cas had already told him or not. He’d chalk it up to nervous memory loss.
"Two weeks, give or take," Cas grinned. "I am officially finished with my position on the 7th of December and then all I have to do is pack up everything and come down!"
"Is there anything we can already take with us? I wish we could stay to help pack, but school and work ..."
"No, no it's alright," Cas shook his head and finished filling Dotty's plate and then his own. "You and I just have to figure out what we actually want from here and what I should sell or have stay behind..."
"That shouldn't be too hard, we can do that." Dean agreed nodding and started dishing up his own plate too.
"Great," Cas gave Dean a smile and turned back to Dot. "I'm glad you're excited, I was kind of worried."
"Why were you worried?" she asked, taking a big bite of her mashed potatoes.
"Well, I want you to be happy! So it was really important to me and to your Daddy that you would be okay with me coming to live with you."
"Well… of course I want that!" She flashed him an exasperated look and shook her head. "I already told my friends at school I had two daddies, so now when they come over they will know it's true!"
Dean stared at his daughter, his scoop of sweet potatoes hovering above the table. "You ... " he blinked.
Cas looked at Dean with his eyes wide and then burst out laughing.
"What?" Dot asked them, confused at their reactions.
"I just didn't know you were telling people that..." Dean replied, just as confused.
"Well, when Uncle Sammy was here, you and him talked about you and Cas being married, so that means he's my daddy too, right?"
Dean looked at Cas, a little shocked, and a tiny bit amused. "Well, Dot," he said looking at her again, "That's... that's true I guess… Cas?”
Cas’s blue eyes widened and he turned to Dean, opening his mouth once before letting it fall shut. "I..." he stopped and glanced at Dotty again who was looking at him expectantly. “Well… Right now... Your Daddy and I are... dating, I guess," he said, giving Dean a shrug. "But you can call me whatever makes you comfortable, okay?" He and Dean hadn't talked about the fact that they were still married since they'd been trying to get the divorce papers taken care of. Hell, Cas still had the signed papers at the bottom of his nightstand drawer…
He glanced towards Dean, hoping his response was an okay one. They hadn't actually talked about how any of their relationships would change once Cas was in the house, though both of them had already assumed Cas would be taking on a parenting role...
"I think I forgot the cranberry sauce," Dean told them and got up slipping back into the kitchen. He was hoping Cas got the hint ... He knew his daughter could be rather straightforward, but sometimes, like now, she was almost scaring him.
Cas waited a second then leaned towards Dorothy. "I don't think he knows where the can opener is... I'll be right back."
Dean stood at the island, expecting Cas momentarily.
"What the Fuck?" Eyes huge, Dean barely mouthed the words at him. “She’s way ahead of us…”
Cas shrugged, eyes just as wide. "I had no idea what to say... Jesus Christ, Dean... I didn't expect that!" Cas chuckled nervously and ran a hand back through his hair, reaching for a small plate to put their 'emergency cranberry sauce' on. "Was what I said okay? I know we hadn't talked about anything like that..."
"Yeah ... Yeah… of course, it was okay ... I just ... I really didn't expect that, you know? Children are scary, Cas." He came to stand right in front of him and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess we'll have a bit more talking to do tonight ..."
"She hears everything, that's for sure..." Cas grinned and opened up a drawer for the can opener, pressing it into Dean's hands. "Let's just change the subject for now... I bet if we tried we could get her to spend the rest of dinner talking about the parade."
"Let's hope so." Dean took the opener and kissed Cas's cheek. "Let's go back."
Cas nodded, squeezing Dean's shoulder as he passed and followed him back into the dining room.
Dot was turned around in her chair, her eyebrow cocked up as she looked at them. "Were you kissing in there?" She asked, making an ‘icky’ face.
"Yes, we were," Dean smiled happily. "That's what daddies do, get used to it, kiddo." He laughed and ruffled her hair.
Dorothy huffed but turned back around in her chair to continue eating. Cas rolled his eyes, laughing as he took his seat again. "Happy Thanksgiving," he laughed, cutting into his turkey. "I love you guys."
"I love you two, too, and tonight I'm most thankful for the two of you." Dean replied.
Dean stood in the open doorway of Dorothy's room after he had finished taking care of washing the dishes and left Castiel to finish drying them. He watched her sleep, as he often did, wondering how to freeze time. She was growing up so quickly…
Although his baby girl was growing up, his cuddly girl growing into a little lady, and he didn’t want to miss any second of it, he was terrified of it as well. He wanted to see her falling in love for the first time, wanted to be there to dry her tears over her first crush, see her graduate and become the beautiful woman he knew she was going to be. But he wanted her to stay like this, this small and this innocent, for just a little bit longer.
Having Cas at his side to help him raise her and help them both through those times had his heart swelling in his chest and it the entire prospect of Dot growing up an adventure for the three of them to tackle as a family. He smiled to himself as he thought of Cas by his side watching Dot grow up together - if anything, he thought Cas would be the one who would end up being more of a worry wart than he would be.
Cas smiled as he came around the corner into the bedroom hallway, drying his hands on the hand towel he’d been using to dry the rest of the dishes. Dean was still leaning against the doorframe to Dot’s room, a thoughtful expression on his face and Cas stood in silence relishing how beautiful he looked in the soft glow of the room’s nightlight.
Slowly, Cas slipped up behind him and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Hey,” he whispered as he pulled Dean back against his chest and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck. He let his chin rest against Dean’s shoulder and gave him a soft squeeze. “You okay?”
Dean nodded and leaned back against Cas. "Tonight, I realized that she's not a baby anymore. I feel old and a little out of my realm. And I'm so thankful you're with me."
Cas kissed him again and hugged him close. "She's not a baby anymore, no... But she's a turning into a beautiful, smart girl. You've done such an amazing job, Dean. I’m proud of you both.”
"We’ll do an even better job together.” Dean turned around and kissed Cas softly, and Cas smiled against his lips, nodding his head. "What are we up to?" Dean asked as he pulled away, letting their foreheads rest together.
"Let's see what should move to Lawrence and what I should sell or leave here," Cas replied, letting his arms trail down until his hand found Dean's as he pulled him away.
Dean nodded and followed after Cas, already starting to think of which things he could see fitting into the house and what to do with the rest of Cas’ things.
Together, they went through the kitchen and living room-- deciding on keeping Cas' china and the pots and pans (since there could never be too many kitchen items), plus the living room television which they agreed to put into a playroom for Dot. Most of the furniture would stay here if the landlord wanted it, otherwise Cas decided he would donate it.
Dotty's room would get transferred, the new bed Cas bought her being newer than the one she had at home, and since the beautiful dresser set already matched it would be worth lugging halfway across the country.
By the time they crawled into bed, Cas felt wiped out and was more than happy to slide up beside Dean and into his arms.
Dean wrapped his arm around Cas and kissed his temple. "How are you feeling, Love?" he asked softly.
"I’m feeling... happy... excited... A bit nervous..." Cas answered honestly, tucking his head into the space between Dean's neck and shoulder. "Mostly excited. I am just excited that I’ll be seeing you and Dorothy every day, you know? Seeing you guys every few months hasn’t been enough for me… I miss you the moment we leave one another."
"Good. Yeah, I know what you mean…Me too." Gently, Dean slid his fingers over Cas's skin. "I'm feeling the same about being apart."
"I love you." Cas reached for Dean, wrapping his fingers around the back of his head and pulling him down for a kiss. "So, so much."
Dean kissed Cas back softly and held him close. "I love you too."
Chapter Twenty-Seven