And so they stay. In this dysfunctional family of angels and hunters and demons.
Sam finally gives in and moves in with Gabe, he talks about it as if he was worn down but everyone can see the truth of the situation in the way he looks at the archangel. In return for moving in with him, Gabriel promises to show him the world. And he does. He shows Sam things he would never find in books, parts of the world not yet written on paper, lives and moments hidden from history.
The adventures take them away from the family for weeks, sometimes months but they always know the way home and they're always missed. This part of the travelling is new to Sam, the landing back in the same place, the people waiting for them. Life on the road had been tough when it wasn't a choice, now it feels like a privilege.
Bobby and Ellen finally let themselves begin to grow older. They listen when their bones ache and let themselves take the mornings off to enjoy the sunrise with each other. Against all odds the two of them trust their kids to take over more with the running of the camp and take a step back.
Or as much of a step back as possible for two slight control freaks. Bobby still patrols the site most days and Ellen is always found in the kitchen in the afternoon, grumbling about the state it was left in from breakfast.
Bobby does step back from hunting, taking on the role of researcher or back up on the other end of the phone. On occasion he takes care of the odd local ghost 'to keep his joints from locking' but he finds himself volunteering to pack up and go less and less.
Rufus on the other hand refuses to slow down in any capacity. He continues to hunt and run activities at the retreat, all while bullying Bobby for taking a back bench in the game.
The rest of the group take up the reigns and do Bobby and Ellen proud. Jo, Anna and Cam take over the main day to day running's of the site, making sure the place doesn't fall down. Garth becomes head therapist, thriving under the work load. Charlie, Jody and Meg make a surprisingly strong team when it comes to management and keeping everyone on track. They all work just as hard on hunts too. Charlie bringing in her computer wizardry and Jo taking the role as lead hunter for the most part.
The operation ran as smoothly as it ever did. The addition of family and the change in roles having little impact on the effectiveness of the group. Living close to each other did on occasion cause grumbles but it was easily resolved by sending someone off on a hunt or just a bit of a holiday (although sending a hunter on a break and expecting them to not pick up a case while they're away is optimistic).
Dean and Cas pitch in with everyone as well. To some people's surprise Dean takes over the running of the kitchen, spending his time testing and trying every recipe he can think of. Anna commented once on how unexpected it was to find Dean in the kitchen and Sam just looked at her and smiled, his brother had always been the best chef, even when the ingredients were old boxes of mac and cheese and whatever he'd stolen from behind a diner. Castiel took a bit longer to find his place at first, often just helping out with whoever needed it that day until Garth took him under his wing and began to teach him the ins and outs of therapy. It fascinated the angel who began classes at the local college in order to fully step into the role.
A couple of weeks after they had chosen to stay Dean and Cas decided to build their own little home, close to where they had had their perfect picnic. Afternoons, evenings and weekends were dedicated to creating their little paradise. With working on the retreat, hunting and building their home, the first few months of having a permanent home were far from settled. Frustrations and lack of sleep was often taken out on each other, except now instead of fighting they had other options to relieve stress.
They didn't do the work all on their own though. Most of the group came to help when they could after they had heard that Dean was insisting that they do it by themselves 'the human way'. Jo and Charlie got stuck in with the building, as did Sam. Bobby and Rufus came most days, sometimes helping and often telling Dean that he was doing something wrong. On the rare occasion Gabriel joined Sam it was mainly to be a nuisance, however on one particularly sunny day Gabe surfaced in the house and dragged Cas away from his project to show him what he'd done.
Gabe had created a perfect little garden for Cas. A place to grow fruit and veg, wildflowers spread across the land, a small beehive, and a reading nook. Cas, who had been ready to scold Gabe for doing nothing and distracting him was taken aback. He smiled and hugged his brother, "you didn't have to, thank you." Gabriel patted him on the back, unsure how to fully accept genuine compliments, "well you know, I did abandon you and hide while the world was falling apart and i was needed, so it's kind of the least i could do" he chuckled. Their relationship had grown from one of anger and resentment to a much more brotherly connection, of which both were grateful.
The house took a while to complete but the process was enjoyed. On the late evenings, after everyone had left, Dean and Cas worked peacefully with each other. Dean loved introducing Cas to DIY, teaching him the best ways to construct and build something beautiful. Cas loved pretending he couldn't quite understand the instructions so that Dean's guiding hands stayed on his for longer. Not that either of them needed an excuse to touch each other now.
They made up for the time lost on longing glances. Every chance they had they sat next to each other, they held hands, every goodbye was punctuated with a kiss. Finally showing their love for each other instead of hiding it under layers of grief and resentment. It was hard to imagine that there was a time that the two weren't in love the way that they are now.
The house, that had truly been a passion project, was finished behind schedule and perfect. Exactly what the pair had wanted. They spent their mornings in the cozy kitchen and evenings on their porch. Once a month they demanded that the family come over to cook dinners that became BBQs in the spring and bonfires in the winter.
Life slowed down. Not to the point that it was peaceful, because that would drive anyone in this family insane, but slow by their standards. Enough that they could get 8 hours sleep if they wanted, they could spend the day settled on the sofa with a blanket, they could book a trip to the beach and not have to take a full arsenal in the impala's trunk. For the first time Dean, Sam and Cas had found a work/life balance. They found a life.
Settling wasn't something they had ever imagined was on the cards for them, especially not together. They knew their life and they knew the end came with someone dead and the other drowning in grief. This was never a possibility. And yet on the mornings that Sam came over for breakfast and Cas was still in his pajama trousers feeding the toddler they had adopted (because life was getting a bit quite and Dean had always dreamed of having a kid) as Dean passed him the pancakes, it was hard to believe that it should have ended any other way.
Happy ever after is rarely in the vocabulary of a hunter. Usually the closest anyone in the life got to that was making it to 60 and taking on hunting from more of a desk job perspective. But they had done it. This small family made of people who had no one else had found happiness and a home. Traditions sprang around them as the family grew into a new generation and hairs turned grey. The idea that a hunting life was lonely and the familiarity with loss faded until it was nothing. The comfort of having a steady, permanent home was never taken for granted.
"I love you," Dean said quietly on night no different from any other. He and Cas had just finished tidying up after dinner and putting their child to bed and were enjoying the autumn evening under a blanket on their porch. Cas turned to smile at his human as Dean continued, "I never thought I could have this, this was always just some far away dream I wouldn't let myself have. The moment I met you I could tell you were going to be important but no one could have ever convinced me I would get this. I would allow myself to have this. You changed me." Cas kissed his cheek, "One of my siblings once said that the moment I touched you I was lost. They had no idea. The way that I would move heaven and hell for you Dean, I'd lose everything for you, all over again. You changed me in a way that was not possible. Where we are now, the idea that we get to do this forever, there aren't human words for how this feels."
The human who had spent his life feeling as though he was never good enough and let everyone down lent his head on the shoulder of the angel who had always been told he was broken and a disappointment. The scars of the past fading away with each passing moment.
The two battered, beautiful souls healing each other with every loving touch for the rest of their days.
-----
Once again I will apologise for being the slowest human being out there but this is the end of the road for this story. I hope it's an ending you all enjoy and think does the story justice.
Thank you so much for sticking with this story, writing over the past few years I never imagined it would be as enjoyed as it has been! This story has taken literally years and I am so so grateful to everyone who has read and commented and voted. I love reading all the comments. I was looking at the demographics of this story and it's so wild to me that it's been read all over the world.
Thank you all so much 💛