Dean began staying at the bakery after close more and more often, until Sam started getting rides home with one of his colleagues, rather than waiting for Dean to pick him up.
Cas got more fluent in ASL with Dean's help, and Dean avoided burning himself again while Cas taught him to bake.
On a rare lunchtime that all of them, including Sam, were in the bakery, Cas was showing Dean how to pipe buttercream frosting, when the bell rang and Alfie said, 'Gabriel, you're back!' and then he gasped slightly and said, 'Aunt Emily?'
Cas's head snapped up and he exclaimed, 'What?' He accidentally squeezed the piping bag too hard and it burst, splattering frosting all over him and Dean. 'Sorry, Dean,' he said, handing him a cloth.
He then looked over at the door, and there she was, casting her judgmental gaze over the shop.
'It's nice to see you, Samandriel,' she said.
Alfie flinched and Cas immediately bristled.
'You know he doesn't like to be called that,' Cas said through gritted teeth.
'I'll call him by the name his parents gave him,' she said snippily.
They glared at each other for a moment, then Cas said, 'Alfie, you can go.'
'Thank you,' Alfie whispered, whipping off his apron and flitting out of the door.
Sam and Dean remained where they were, frozen in place by the icy silence that had suddenly filled the bakery.
Cas switched his gaze to Gabriel. 'Why would you bring her here?' he all but spat.
'You said if she had something to say, she should come here and say it herself, so here she is.'
'I didn't mean it!' Cas spluttered. 'I didn't think she'd actually come either.'
'Come on, Cas, don't be like that,' Gabriel said reproachfully. 'She's our mom.'
'She's not a mother, she's a reptile,' Cas hissed.
'Well now you're being dramatic.'
'Gabriel, for the love of-'
'I will not be spoken about as if I'm not here,' Emily interrupted. 'Castiel-'
'Don't speak to me,' he growled.
'Cas-'
'Get out of my bakery.'
Neither of them moved.
'I said get out. Now!' He threw his own cloth on the ground in fury.
Gabriel sighed and put his arm around Emily's shoulder. 'Come on, Mom, let's go.'
'I will not!'
'I'm not giving you a choice here.'
'Fine.'
They both walked out again, leaving Cas standing in the middle of the room, shaking.
After a moment, Sam and Dean slowly approached him.
'Cas?' Sam said quietly. 'Are you okay?'
Cas sniffed slightly. 'I'm sorry, guys, I have to close a little early today.'
'Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on, Dean.'
Dean lingered a little at the door, casting a concerned look over Cas, but Cas refused to meet his eye, so he left with Sam.
Cas locked the door behind them and sunk down behind the counter. He didn't even attempt to identify any of the swirling emotions washing over him, he just curled into a ball and sobbed. Eventually, they subsided enough for him to force himself up and leave the bakery. If he was going to break down, he might as well be at home.
One foot after the other, he walked himself home, but when he turned the corner onto his block, he froze. Three people were standing at his door. Dean was leaning on the door itself, arms folded stubbornly, while Gabriel and Emily stood in front of him. They appeared to be trying to argue with him, and Gabriel was holding a key in his hand.
He steeled himself, then approached them. Dean saw him first and unfolded his arms, his expression softening.
{Are you okay?} Dean signed.
{I will be.}
{I saw them come this way, so I followed them} Dean explained. {I found them looking for your spare key. I didn't think you would want them in here}
{You did the right thing} Cas reassured him.
Cas then addressed Gabriel and Emily. 'When I told you to get out of my bakery, I didn't mean get out and then break into my apartment. What is the matter with you?'
'Tell your guard dog to get out of the way, so we can go inside and talk,' Emily said.
Gabriel groaned.
'No, no, you don't get to talk about him like that,' Cas said. 'He means more to me than you ever have or ever will, so back off.'
'All right, everyone needs to calm down,' Gabriel said. He walked closer to Cas. 'Cas, please. Just listen to what she has to say.'
Cas sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'I can't believe you did this, Gabriel.'
'You know I wouldn't unless I thought it was worth it.'
'Yes, but you and I have very different definitions of "worth it" when it comes to her.'
'Please hear us out, just this once.'
Cas bit his lip and looked from Gabriel, to Emily, to Dean.
{You don't have to do anything you don't want to do} Dean signed, still standing at the door.
Cas ran his hands through his hair. 'Fine,' he said. 'Fine, I'll hear it if it makes you leave faster.'
Dean hesitantly stepped away from the door, but took the key from Gabriel. {Are you sure about this?} He asked, then gave Cas the key.
{Not really} Cas shrugged.
{I can come in with you}
{No, I'll be fine. You should go home}
Dean grabbed his notebook and wrote on it. {Here's my number. Text me if you need anything}
{Thank you} Cas gave a weak smile as Dean squeezed his shoulder.
Dean shot Emily a nasty look over his shoulder, before grudgingly walking away.
'Oh, Dean, wait,' Cas said, slightly frazzled.
Dean turned back.
{I forgot to pack up the leftovers, can you?}
{Of course I can}
Cas gave him the bakery key. {Just leave it where the spare goes when you're finished}
{Sure. See you later}
Dean disappeared around the corner and Cas opened his front door, stalling in the doorway for a moment before allowing Gabriel and Emily in. He closed the door once they were inside.
'Sit on the couch,' he said without looking at either of them.
Gracie came trotting out of the spare room, yowling loudly, clearly upset at their usual routine being disturbed. She jumped up on the counter, looking at Cas accusingly.
'I know,' he murmured to her, patting her on the head. 'I'm sorry I disturbed you. Do you want a treat?'
She purred at his touch and he grabbed a can of sardines from the fridge.
'Just this once, okay?'
She licked her lips and scarfed down the sardine he held out for her.
'Will you get that thing out of here, so we can have a conversation?' Emily said scathingly.
Still not looking at her, Cas said, 'She lives here. You don't.'
'Mom, just chill out. Let him take his time,' Gabriel chastised quietly.
Emily just tutted.
'You're really not helping yourself,' Gabriel grumbled.
Cas dawdled a little longer with Gracie, but finally dragged himself over to his chair and sat down, cross-legged and stiff, with his hands clasped tightly in his lap.
Perhaps sensing his discomfort, Gracie, instead of going back to sleep in the spare room, sat next to Cas on the arm of his chair. She too glared at Emily.
'All right, tell me what you want,' Cas said finally.
Emily drew herself up. 'I want a relationship with you. I'm tired of having to hear about you from third-hand sources.'
Cas laughed harshly. 'Is this a joke?'
'It absolutely is not a joke,' Emily said in an offended tone.
'Don't tell me you believe this garbage?' Cas said to Gabriel.
'Excuse me, this is not garbage,' Emily insisted. 'You're my son-'
'Funny, I seem to remember you saying the opposite the last time I saw you.'
'And that was a mistake,' said Emily.
Cas's mouth clamped shut in surprise.
Gabriel smirked at his expression.
'It was a mistake,' Emily repeated. 'I know that now, and I've come here to fix it.'
Cas groaned and put his head in his hands. 'This isn't something you just fix,' he said. 'You have no idea what I went through after you threw me out. None at all.'
'So tell me.'
'What makes you think you can come in here and I'll just tell you my business?' Cas said. 'You gave up your look into my life when you – and I'll repeat – kicked me out of our house.'
'Come now, Castiel, I've admitted my mistakes, now it's time for you to admit yours.'
'My – my what?' Cas said, flabbergasted. 'My mistakes? How dare you?'
'Cas, wait-' Gabriel began.
'Wait for what? You know what, don't even bother. You've said enough, which still didn't include an apology, by the way. I'm done with this.' He stood up and opened the front door, ushering them both out.
'Cas, please.'
'Goodbye, Gabriel,' Cas said firmly. 'If you want to visit again, don't.' He closed the door on them and locked it. He waited next to it until he heard them walking away, their muffled argument drifting under the door.
Gracie wound herself around Cas's legs, but he was so numb he didn't realise she was there. He paced around the kitchen for a while, attempting to organise his thoughts. Eventually, he decided to go for a walk, leaving Gracie to sleep.
Once she realised that Cas was leaving, she jumped up on the couch and rolled around where Emily had been sitting, as if she were trying to rid the couch of her scent. That was how Cas preferred to think of it, anyway.
Cas walked aimlessly around town for hours, but no matter what he did, he couldn't see to clear his head. All he kept thinking of was the day he was thrown out, playing it over and over again in his mind. So much so, that he didn't notice when it got dark until he tripped on a curb. He grazed his hand on the pavement, looking around dazedly and noticed the street lights were on. He stood up, holding his wrist, and decided to make his way home.
It was late, and Gracie was once again annoyed by how long it had taken to get her dinner. He fed her and the fish, and got ready for bed. He left his bedroom door open in case Gracie wanted a cuddle and tried to sleep.
Hours passed as Cas tossed and turned, unable to calm his thoughts or get comfortable. He dozed off just as dawn broke, but woke up less than an hour later, when his alarm clock went off.
He groaned and forced himself up, eyes gritty, shoulders tense and a headache forming, but he got himself dressed anyway and dragged himself to the bakery.
To his surprise, Sam and Dean were outside waiting for him.
'Cas!' Sam called. He wasn't wearing his usual smart suit, and instead had on a loose long-sleeve shirt and jeans.
'What are you guys doing here?' Cas asked, fiddling with his keys.
Dean held up a bag of apples.
'You want to make a pie?' he said, surprised, jiggling the key in the lock.
'Yeah, we thought we'd hang out for a while today, if you don't mind,' said Sam. 'It's my day off.'
'It's your day off and you want to spend it in the bakery?' Cas said sceptically, still trying to unlock the door. 'If you really want to... Damn it.' Cas yanked the keys out of the door and threw them onto the ground in frustration.
Dean bent and picked them up.
'Cas, it's okay,' Sam said. 'Maybe you don't have to open today.'
'No, no, I'll be fine,' Cas sighed, taking the keys back. 'I can't do nothing, so I may as well open.'
He was finally able to unlock the door, and went straight into the kitchen. Dean followed, while Sam began organising everything out in the front.
Cas banged around the kitchen, grabbing everything and making a lot of noise to distract himself.
Dean began on his pie, and watching Cas out of the corner of his eye.
'Smells good back there,' Sam said a while later, as the smell of baking bread filled the building.
Cas was still flitting around the kitchen, mixing things and baking them at breakneck speed, but dropping them just as quickly. Around and around he went, getting more and more worked up until Dean grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to stop.
{You have to slow down} he insisted. [You'll hurt yourself}
{I can't. I can't} Cas tried to turn away, but Dean grabbed him again.
Instead of saying anything, Dean pulled him into a tight hug.
Cas stiffened in surprise for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around Dean in return. He buried his face in Dean's shoulder, but couldn't stop his tears from soaking Dean's shirt.
'I can't – I can't,' he said, his voice muffled.
Dean made quiet shushing sounds in his ear and just allowed him to cry. After a while, Sam poked his head around the door and signed, {Everything okay?}
Dean nodded slightly and continued to hold Cas, gently rubbing his back.
Soon, Cas pulled away and Dean handed him a tissue. 'I'm sorry,' he mumbled.
Dean shook his head. {I understand}
'Cas, are you sure you want to open?' Sam called from the other room.
Cas wiped his face, sniffling slightly. 'Yes,' he called back.
'In that case, I'll hold down the fort out here and you two can stay back there, okay?'
'You don't have to do that.'
'Nah, it's fine. I get to finally use all that retail training.'
Cas chuckled weakly. 'Thanks, Sam.'
Cas and Dean worked quietly in the kitchen. Cas put Dean in charge of kneading dough and he finally made some progress without dropping anything.
They managed to open on time and things were running smoothly until a few customers came in and Sam called back, 'Cas, the register's jammed.'
Cas sighed and went up to the register. He felt up the side of it for the right spot and smacked it.
It popped open and Sam raised an eyebrow. 'I think you need a new one of these,' he said.
Cas shrugged and made to go back into the kitchen.
'Wait, you got some mail,' Sam said, handing Cas an envelope.
He took it out into the kitchen and smiled as he read the leaflet inside.
{What is it?} Dean asked.
{It's a market I go to every year} he explained. {I'll have to close early on Wednesday. It's a few hours away}
{Do you need a ride?}
{If you don't mind}
{Sure} Dean grinned and carried on with his bread.
Alfie arrived at lunchtime and sidled into the kitchen.
'Are you okay?' Cas asked as soon as he saw him.
'Me? I'm fine. Are you?'
Cas shrugged. 'I've been better, but I'll be okay. Thanks for coming in today.'
They worked through the day until they were all stood outside, waiting for Cas to lock the door.
'Thanks for today, guys,' he said quietly.
'It's no problem,' said Sam. 'It was fun, actually.'
Cas smiled at him.
{I'd make a pretty good baker} Dean added.
'I'd better get home before the cat gets mad at me.'
'Yeah, of course. Take care of yourself, Cas.'
{See you Wednesday}
{Goodnight}
Cas trudged home and fed Gracie, but once again found himself unable to get to sleep. This time, instead of wasting his time trying to force himself to sleep, he used his time more productively and wrote lists and lists of recipe ideas and ingredients needed to try them. He filled several notepads until Gracie woke up, demanding her breakfast.