Dean rolled over in bed and he felt himself bump into someone. He smiled, knowing that Cas was still lying next him. He felt someone tug on his arm and he heard a small voice say
"Daddy" He turned back over and saw his little Emma standing there. It had been three years now since Cas and Dean had gotten married. Emma was six and Cameron was five.
"Emma, what's wrong?" Dean asked, swinging his legs out of bed and lifting her onto his lap.
"I had another nightmare" She whimpered.
"Emma, it's just a dream. It can't hurt you" Dean soothed her and held her close. "Do you want to tell me?" She shook her head as a response.
"It was to scary to tell you. You might be afraid." She admitted. Dean chuckled.
"Don't worry Emma, I don't get scared of anything" Dean smiled.
"This man broke into our house. He killed daddy and you told me to take Cameron outside and you died in the fire that consumed our house" Tears ran from her eyes as she retold the story.
"Emma, baby, it's okay. Me and Daddy are still here. See?" Dean pointed over to Cas who was still sleeping soundly. "There is nothing to worry about" She still seemed afraid. "Why don't you sleep with us for the rest of the night?"
"Okay Daddy" She smiled. Emma climbed off of Dean's lap and curled up in the middle of the bed. Cas seemed to subconsciously know Emma was there and he reached over and wrapped his arms around her. Dean laid back down and wrapped his arms around her as well.
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The next morning Cas woke up first and found Emma sleeping soundly in between him and Dean. He knew she must have had another nightmare. She had them a lot. Careful not to wake Dean and Emma, Cas slid out of bed and crept downstairs to make breakfast. Sam and Gabriel would be coming over for breakfast today like they did every Sunday. They would spend the day and they would all play games as a family, or see a movie, or have a family day out, it really didn't matter but they did it together. Cas cracked one egg into the now heated pan, then a second, then a third, followed by a fourth. He scrambled them all together, adding salt, cheese, and the smallest amount of pepper. Cas had learned lots of "cooking secrets" since he was the stay at home father.
"That smells good" Dean whispered in Cas's ear from behind, pulling Cas from his thoughts and startling him.
"Dean. What was the need to do that? Why would you scare me like that?" Cas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Dean just laughed.
"Because it's funny" Dean grinned at his husband.
"Dean it isn't funny. I don't find this amusing" Cas told him.
"Yes but I do. Now don't let your eggs burn. Gabriel will have your ass if you burn them again." Dean reminded Cas and he took them off and put them in a big bowl.
"Do me a favor and put this on the table. Also grab the hot sauce and ketchup from the fridge and put those on the table as well" Cas instructed.
"Damn Cas, you get bossy in your old age" Dean chuckled.
"Language! We don't want Emma and Cam to learn from your foul mouth" Cas gave him a glare.
"Look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" Dean joked, but Cas didn't laugh. "Cas, what's wrong? What's bothering you?"
"I'm worried about Emma and all these nightmares she is having" Cas sighed as he poured some pancake batter into a new pan.
"I'm worried about her too Cas. She seems to be having them every night now. They usually involve death of either her brother, one of us, or Sam and Gabriel and their three kids" Dean told him.
"And that's what worries me the most. A six year old girl shouldn't be having dreams like that. Death and stuff. A six year old girl has dreams about princes and princesses and castles. Not Death. I think we should take her to see someone. It's getting worse and I'm scared Dean" Cas's voice caught in his throat at the end and his voice broke. Dean pulled his husband into a hug and rubbed his back to calm him down.
"Don't worry Cas. It will all work out in the end" Dean said in a soothing voice. The sound of little feet above their heads caused them to put a smile on their faces. They wore a mask for the kids because they didn't want to bring their spirits down. Emma was down first and then Cameron. The two ran over to Dean first, knowing not to run to Cas while he was cooking. Dean lifted the two of them up and they clung to his neck.
"Daddy, is Uncle Sam and Uncle Gabe coming over today?" Cam asked.
"Of course Cam. They come over every Sunday." Dean told him as he brought them over to the table. He sat down in one of the chairs and they sat on his lap.
"Why did Emma sleep with you and Daddy last night?" Cam asked.
"Because I had another nightmare stupid!" Emma yelled at her brother.
"Emma don't yell at your brother. He was asking a question. He didn't mean any harm" Dean frowned.
"Sorry Daddy" Emma hung her head, the feeling of disapproval running through her. "Daddy, are sending me away?"
"Emma, why would you ever think that we would?" Dean was shocked. Where had she even gotten that idea.
"I heard you and Daddy talking about my nightmares." She told him. Dean glanced over at Cas, who was listening to the whole conversation.
"Emma, we would never abandon you. We love you a lot. We just want you to be happy and your nightmares are starting to scare us. We were going to take you to see someone in case it's some serious issue. We would never send you away though" Dean told her and kissed the top of her head.
"Okay daddy." Emma smiled at him, but he wasn't sure how real the smile was. At that moment the door burst open and everyone jumped in surprise but in walked Gabriel, Sam, Jordan, Austin, and Savannah. Emma and Cam jumped off of Dean's lap and ran over to their cousins and uncles.
"Okay everyone, sit down. Breakfast is ready" Cas said as he carried over pancakes, sausages, bacon, and homefries. No one shied away from taking food and it was almost entirely gone by the time everyone took their fill.
"So where are we going to go to today?" Gabriel asked as he added extra syrup to his pancakes, alone with whipcream.
"I was thinking that since it was fall now it would be fun to go apple picking" Dean suggested. All the kids cheered at that suggestion.
"There is one down the street we could go to" Sam said. "I pass it on the way to school"
"Yeah, I've seen it. It's a pretty decent sized one. It could be fun." Dean nodded.
"I'm game" Gabe said as he stuffed his face.
"Me too, and Gabriel will you quit being such a pig. We don't need the kids learning that bad behavior" Sam sounded like a mother and it caused everyone to laugh.
"Apple picking it is then" Dean smiled and took a bite of his sausage.
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The four men and five children climbed out of their cars and headed into the store. The kids ran around looking at all of the merchandise as the four fathers approached the counter.
"We would like five of the bags to fill" Dean told the man at the desk.
"That will be twenty five dollars" He said in a monotone voice. He clearly didn't want to be there. Sam handed him the money and took the bags.
"Kids, come here" Cas called, they always came when he called. The five of them stood in front of their fathers. "You each get one bag to fill. No more. Stay close to us we don't want you getting lost." With that they went out into the orchard.
After about an hour of picking they were approached by a man in a black suit. He had a bit of scruff but he didn't seem to intimidating. You just sort of knew not to mess with him. He tapped on Sam's shoulder and he turned around expecting either his brother, Cas, or Gabriel. He was surprised to see his freshman roommate, Crowley.
"Crowley? What are you doing here?" Sam asked, clearly not able to hide his surprise.
"I need you guys' help again" He grinned.
"Crowley, we can't help you. We have families to look out for now" Sam went to turn back but Crowley grabbed him.
"You don't understand. If you don't help me your children will be in great danger." Crowley argued.
"Crowley, my children will be in greater danger if I help you" Sam tried to leave again but Crowley still held on.
"Please just hear me out. Later today. The four of you meet me back here" Crowley was desperate and Sam could tell.
"And who would we leave the kids with? They aren't staying home alone. The two oldest are seven." Sam told him.
"Fine. I can come to your place. Or Dean's. It doesn't matter. Please I just need you to hear me out." Crowley was far more desperate than Sam had ever seen him.
"Okay, yeah, we will hear you out. Now go away before one of the kids see you" Sam gave him a look and he left.
"What was that about?" Gabriel asked coming up and standing beside his moose.
"Crowley needs our help. He was really desperate this time. I've never seen him this desperate and I was his roommate for a year." Sam told him.
"What did you tell him?" Gabriel asked.
"I told him we would hear him out. We can at least do that" Sam sighed. "He will be coming over later today... Now come on. Let's get back before Dean and Cas notice our disappearance." Sam gave a chuckle and the two of them walked back over to the group, hand in hand.