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Chapter Text

Cas was packing his Cookie Monster backpack to go over to his bestest friend’s house for a sleepover. He had already packed his Luke Skywalker jammies, his stuffed bee (Mister Buzz was his name) along with some extra socks. Cas always slept in Dean’s bed but the blonde-haired boy had the coldest feet Cas had ever felt! So, he needed the extra socks so he didn’t get toe-cicles. 

He heard his brother, Gabe, yelling that he’d answer the door, so his Momma’s boyfriend must have knocked. Cas really liked Mr. Chuck because he was really nice to him and Gabe, and he made his Momma smile a lot. Cas opened his door to hear her laughing which made him smile. His brother says that his big, gummy smile makes him look crazy, but Dean likes it, so Gabe can blow it out his ear. 

Hearing Gabe stomping up the stairs, Cas hurried to finish stuffing some toys in his backpack. Dean loved to play cars so he stuffed as many of his Hot Wheels in among his clothes as he could. Looking up when his door crashed open, he turned to see Gabe and Mr. Chuck coming in his room. He ran over to hug the man’s legs before he was picked up to get tickles. He really liked Mr. Chuck.  

Cas was curious as Mr. Chuck closed the door before walking over to sit down in front of Cas’ bed, settling him in his lap and motioning for Gabe to sit down with them. “What’s up, Chuck?” his big brother asked him. 

“Well, you boys know how much I love and adore you and your Mom, yes?” As he talked (stuttered actually), Chuck was petting his fingers through Cas’ hair, which made him wish he was a kitty so he could purr. 

“Yes, Mr. Chuck,” Cas answered while watching Gabe blow a bubble the size of his head, also nodding his understanding to Chuck. 

“Well, tonight, I want to ask her to marry me, if that’s alright with you boys. We can be a family, if that’s something you think you’d want.” His voice got steadier the more he spoke. 

“Sure thing, Chuck. I gotta get packed for the Winchesters', will you help Cassie finish getting ready?” Gabe was almost out the door as he finished speaking but he was smiling his true smile, not the one he gave when he was about to prank you. 

“Of course. So, what do you think, Cas? Would you be alright with us being a family?” 

“Yes, Sir. Why you gotta get married to be a family?” He turned his head to look up at Mr. Chuck. 

“Well, you don’t. We can be a family without me marrying your Mom, but I want to show her how much I love her and proposing marriage is a way to do that. She’s my best friend, the one I love above all and by marrying her it lets everyone know that she is my wife and I'm her husband. Let me show you the ring.” Cas was lifted to sit on the floor so Chuck could dig the ring box out of his pants' pocket. 

Cas got up on his knees to look in the box, and his gasp was an indication that he thought it was pretty even before he said so.  

“I’m glad you like it, Cas. I hope your Mom likes it too.” He watched as Chuck put the box back in his pocket when he had a thought. 

“Mr. Chuck, are you s’posed to marry your bestest friend?” he asked as he bit at his bottom lip. 

“It’s a wise thing to do because you want to be friends as well as in love with your spouse,” the man answered. 

“What’s a spouse?” He was getting more and more upset and Mr. Chuck picked him back up. 

“It’s your wife or husband. What’s wrong, Cas?” Mr. Chuck wiped the tears from his face. 

“I don’t have a ring for Dean!! He's my bestest friend ever and I needs to marry him! What am I gonna do?” he wailed hiding his face in Chuck’s neck. 

“You want to marry Dean?” Before he even finished his question, Cas was nodding and crying harder. 

“B..b...but I don’t have a ring!!!” 

Just then Gabe came back in the room with some tissue and began wiping Cas’ tears before holding it to his nose and telling him to “Blow, Cassie.” 

“Gabe, what’m I gonna do?” he sobbed. 

“Come here, Cassie” He let Gabe pull him in his lap. “Look, you wanna ask Dean to marry you, yeah?” The older boy continued to wipe his tears away. 

“C’rse I do, but I need a ring!” 

“I gotcha, kiddo. Here.” Gabe handed him a brand-new ring pop, which was amazing since his brother never gave away anything that contained sugar. “It’s even apple, Dean’s fave.” 

Cas threw his arms around his brother’s neck whispering ‘thank you’ over and over again. He let Gabe help him blow his nose again before Mr. Chuck helped him with his back-pack. Going downstairs Cas’ mom looked at him questioningly but Chuck was behind her shaking his head to keep her from asking questions. After getting kisses and hugs from her, Gabe and Cas were finally able to get out the door to walk next door to the Winchesters' home. 

Mary was on the porch waiting for them and when Cas turned around, he saw his Momma and Mr. Chuck watching them,  too. It made him feel loved, and not quite so nervous about pros’ing to Dean. He was gonna ask him to be his wife. Cas grabbed Gabe’s hand and began pulling him, trying to get him to go faster, but the older boy was struggling a bit with both of their bags. 

When they made it to Mary she was laughing, but Cas didn’t care, he knew she wasn’t laughing to be mean (like some of the kids at school did). He knew she loved them just as she loved her own boys. She told them so all the time. 

“Hello, Mrs. W,” they both said while going into the Winchesters’ home, then they removed their coats and boots.  

“Hello, boys. Did you bring some of your new toys to play with?” She took the back-packs from Gabe and set them at the foot of the stairs. 

“I brought a new book I got, Mrs. W.  The newest Harry Potter book, so I'm set for the night after dinner.” Cas giggled when she ruffled Gabe’s hair. She was the only one besides their own Mom who could get away with touching his brother’s hair. 

“Nice!” she replied giving Gabe the high-five he was waiting for before looking at Cas. “What about you, Sweetie?” She also ruffled his hair but he loved it. 

“Yes, Mrs. W...but before we play I really need to ask Dean a very ‘portant question. Where is he?” He was shifting from one foot to the other. 

“He’s in his room waiting for you. Go on up.” Cas nodded before flying up the stairs only to hear her yell for him to slow down.  

“Yes, Ma’am,” he yelled before softly running down the hall and barreling into Dean’s room. 

“Heya, Cas!” Dean smiled really big when he saw him. He always did that, but it was just now that Cas thought (for the first time) how pretty Dean’s smile was. 

“Hello, Dean.” He could feel himself getting nervous but told himself that this was Dean, and it would be alright. 

“Are you ready to play cars on my new track?” He was bouncing up and down on his knees pointing at the race track Santa had just brought him. 

Cas sat down next to him, reaching out to tangle their fingers together. He noticed that Dean’s smile got bigger when he looked down at their hands making his nerves settle a bit more. 

“I need to ask a very ‘portant question first, Dean. OK?” He looked up from their hands to see Dean tilting his head the same way Cas did. 

“C’orse Cas, you can ask anything.” He felt Dean squeeze his fingers. 

“K, so...you’re my bestest friend, ever, and Mr. Chuck said that your s’posed to ask your bestest friend, and I gots a ring, see?” He pulled the ring pop out of his pocket, going so far as to remove it from the package. 

“Man! I love the apple ones.”  

“I know, so will you?” He held the ring out towards Dean. 

“Will I what, Cas?” He noticed Dean was looking at him and not the ring. 

“Oh, sorry. I’m ‘prosing. I wanna marry you, so do you wanna marry me and be my wife?” His nerves were back but only for a moment because that’s as long as it took for Dean to hold out his hand for Cas to put the ring on it. 

Cas was surprised when Dean leaned over to kiss his cheek before he jumped up and ran downstairs hollering for his parents. 

“Mom! Dad! Guess what? I'm gonna marry Cas and be his wife!!” 

Chapter Text

It had been a very long week for Cas. Since he and Dean became engaged on Christmas day things (not to mention people) had gone nuts! He was lucky that he just had to ‘sit back and relax’ like Dean told him to. Apparently, the wedding was something for the bride to make the decisions on, and the husband only had to show up. He could do that, and, since he and Gabe were having another slumber party at Dean’s on New Year’s Eve, that’s when Dean decided they should be married. 

Cas’ mom, along with Mrs. W., were planning for the ceremony, but when Dean saw what they were doing he was not happy—not at all. Cas had been doing his part (not interfering) but when Dean brought out his ‘boo-boo’ tears at what they had planned, he had to step in. He informed them both that Dean was the bride, not them, so he should have whatever he wanted. The moms both kissed him on the cheek, then he had his arms full of a crying Dean, and assured him that they would make sure Dean got whatever he wanted, within reason. Whatever, as long as his bride was happy. 

He had been worried how Mr. W. would take the news that they were getting married, but he really surprised Cas by taking him and Dean out for hot chocolate the next morning. There was even marshmallows in it, Yum! After their treat, he took them shopping for some new jammies to wear for the wedding. Dean had decided since it was a sleep over it should be a jammies party/wedding. At the store, Mr. W. took them to the jammies section and told them to pick the ones they wanted while he was finding some matching ones for Gabriel and Sammy. They were standing up for them and Dean wanted them to match.  

Up high on the racks (he hated being short) Cas saw the perfect set of jammies. They were a dark green with bees all over them and they were wearing Santa hats. He just stood there staring and bouncing on his toes until Mr. W. came over to help him. 

“These the ones, Cas?” Mr. W. started checking for his size after Cas nodded. 

When he got his hands on them, he was thrilled at how soft they were. They were perfect. He had his face buried in them when he heard Dean running towards him saying he wanted to see what Cas had picked.  

“Those are awesome, Cas!” he shouted when he held them out for Dean to see. “These are mine.” 

“Wow! Neat, Dean.” Cas liked Dean’s jammies, too. They were dark blue with sloths (wearing red and white scarves, as well as hats) on them walking along Christmas lights. 

Mr. W. came over to laugh his approval and get Dean’s on the jammies he had picked for Gabriel and Sammy, which were red with mistletoe all over them. He had even picked out the same type, so all four of them had onesie jammies. Dean’s large smile made Cas so very happy. He couldn’t wait until New Year’s Eve. 

Waking up on the morning of his wedding, Cas jumped out of bed so excited! The wedding wasn’t until after dinner (it was millions and trillions of hours away!) and he felt like he wasn’t gonna be able to wait so long. Luckily for him, his momma came in his room as soon as she heard him up. 

“G’morning, Baby. Are you excited for tonight?” she asked as she tried to get his hair to lay flat, even though she always said it was a lost cause.  

“I am! I'm gonna marry Dean, my bestest friend. Momma?” he asked as she was pulling his jammies off. ‘When are you and Mr. Chuck getting married?” 

“We haven’t decided yet, but we are discussing having a ceremony on Valentine’s Day. What do you think?” She was walking him towards the bathroom which meant he had to have a bath. Yuck. 

“You gonna have candy at yours like we are?” He had given up knowing she wouldn’t let him get out of a bath on his wedding day, so he was throwing every toy he and Gabriel had in the bubbles. 

“Not as much as Dean picked out,” she said laughing. “But maybe some candy, along with a wedding cake.” 

“We’re having candy and pie! Dean says pie is better than any ol’ stinky cake.” He would never admit that he kinda liked playing with his toys in the bubbles.  

“Do you think pie is better than cake, Cas?” Crud, now she was washing his hair. He hated that. 

“Yep,” he said popping his ‘p' like Dean taught him. “ ‘specially Mrs. W.’s apple pie.” 

“Alright, then. Let's get you clean, then you and I will go start breakfast.” 

“Otay!” he hollered before dunking his head to get rid of the shampoo. 

Cas waited until he heard the cuckoo clock chimes go off, telling him it was seven p.m., time to get married. Gabe walked out in front of him (they had been waiting in Sammy’s room), leading him down the stairs to the living room. There was a table set up with green and blue candies, green and blue fruit punches, and both a blueberry and an apple pie. He had been warned that they couldn’t eat too much sugar, but they could splurge since it was their wedding. 

He heard Dean (he had such a beautiful giggle) before he saw him walking down the hallway next to his daddy. Cas saw that he was wearing his ‘gagement ring. He had figured Dean would have eaten it already, and had his biggest smile on his face when he was him waiting for him. 

Cas was standing in front Miss Missouri (their babysitter), who was going to marry them. She was the best hugger after his momma and Mrs.W. She really loved them all, plus she wouldn’t let Gabriel get away with any pranks! 

Dean was finally standing in front of him while Mr. W. had sat down next to the other adults. Cas couldn’t keep from smiling when he leaned closer to whisper, “Heya, Cas.” 

“Hello, Dean,” he whispered back. He glanced down at the ring-pop on his finger before looking up to catch Dean’s eye, letting him see that he was surprised 

“I told ya I wouldn’t eat it and I didn’t. Oh! here.” He reached into his jammies' pocket to pull out a blue ring-pop. Cas watched as Dean opened it then shoved it on his hand. He had gotten Cas a ring, too! 

“Thanks, Dean.” Cas couldn’t help but wiggle his butt in happiness. He had a ring to wear too! 

“Alright, boys. Are you ready?” Missouri got their attention.  

“Yes, ma’am!” they both shouted together. 

“Very well.” She was trying hard not to laugh, Cas could tell. “Let’s begin.” 

It only took a few minutes before Sammy was trying to wander off (he was only two after all) before Gabriel just picked him up. Sammy loved it when Gabriel held him. He would stay quiet for hours in the older boy’s arms, as long as he let him play with his hair.  

There were a lot of words, which he didn’t understand, but the ones he did, he would remember forever. 

“Dean, do you want Cas to be your husband, forever? To remain his best friend, to help him when he needs it, to let him help you when you need it, and to always be family?” Missouri asked Dean. 

“I sure do!” Dean had spoken softly with his joy sparkling in his eyes. It was kind of like when he looked at pie. 

“Castiel, do you want Dean to be your wife, forever? To remain his best friend, to help him when he needs it, to let him help you when you need it, and to always be family?”  

“I do, yes ma’am, I do.” He knew he had his big, dumb, gummy smile that Gabriel teased him about on his face, but it was OK. 

“By the power vested in me as your babysitter, I now declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss,” she said. 

Dean leaned forward so they could kiss each other on the cheek. He had made Cas practice this all week so that they got it right. Cas figured he did since Dean was looking at him like he was a slice of his momma’s pie. 

He hoped Dean always looked at him like that. Always. 

17 years later...... 

Cas was sitting at a table surrounded by his loved ones on what was a perfect day. He had been a part of many perfect days since Dean Winchester had become his best friend, but this one topped them all. Today was their wedding day. They had decided to wait until after college (well to get married…ha!) so that they could take a year off to travel around the states in Dean’s Baby. Cas had been jealous of her name until Dean began calling him ‘Honey’ in their freshman year of high school. 

There had been ups and downs on the road they had traveled so far, but nothing that had kept them apart for more than a day or so. There had been Meg, and then Lisa, that had shifted their focus before realizing (on the same day) that no one else could be what they were to each other.  Dean had made the leap (that Cas had been dying to) from calling Cas his best friend, to his boyfriend, and they had been inseparable ever since. 

Looking over at his husband, he noticed that Dean was no longer dancing with Charlie, but was now standing with their moms, looking at a book and crying. Cas jumped up and marched over to see what was going on, but he wasn’t worried so to speak, since Dean was laughing through his tears. 

“Dean, what’s this?” he asked gesturing towards the book. 

“It’s the pictures from our first wedding, Cas. See, I knew I was destined to be your bride.” 

Chapter Text

Cas had finally gotten off the phone with his dad, after an hour's discussion of his latest plot point that was giving him trouble. Cas had never imagined when he was younger that he would grow up to create one of the best-selling book series of all time, let alone do it with his dad, Chuck. He walked into the living room to see his husband snoozing on the couch with their daughter asleep on top of him, her pink socked feet pushed up under his jaw. Cas would bet money that he was dreaming in Spanish, most likely about food. Snickering to himself, Cas began lightly rubbing circles on Dean's calf, but before he could actually wake him Cas' phone chirped.

"Hello?" he answered, keeping his eyes on his gorgeous husband who had just started snoring in time with the small child on his chest.

"Hey, Cassie." He supposed he should be used to his brother's horrendous nickname for him after all these years, but he still hated it.

"Gabriel, please." They started every conversation this way, and he supposed it was the same thing as Dean and Sam with their "Bitch and Jerk" nicknames. The ritual was comforting.

"Anyhoo, Castiel , just making sure that you still want us all to meet over there at noon tomorrow?" He could hear Jo in the background telling Gabe to "be nice," whatever that meant.

"Of course. Dean and I have lunch planned. He's got his chili lime chicken marinating and the potato salad is in the fridge chilling." Cas couldn't take his eyes off his daughter and husband.

"Just wanted to make sure you two weren't going to take off on one of Dean's work trips all of a sudden, again ." Cas squinted at the phone at his brother's tone, but before he could ask Gabriel what he was getting at, Jo told Gabe to say good night and his brother hung up. 

Deciding to let it go until tomorrow, Cas carefully lifted their little one from Dean's chest to take her for a diaper change since he could see that the one she was wearing was quite full. As he laid her on the changing table her eyes began to flutter open and he was caught in her dark brown eyes sprinkled with gold flakes. She was gorgeous.

"Papi." She whispered around the thumb she had shoved in her mouth before she patted his chest with her other hand.

"Hello, Littlebit. Did you sleep well with your daddy?" He loved that her eyes immediately went to the nursery door looking for Dean.

"Daddy? Sleep, good. Hungry." She already sounded like Dean's child. She was always hungry. Cas laughed as she 'helped' him change her diaper by waving her legs in the air, trying to get a good look at her socks. 

"Did I hear someone say they were hungry?" Cas turned to see Dean walk in the room carrying a sippy cup and the silly purple and orange stuffed turtle their daughter adored.

"Daddy!" He and Dean both jerked at the force of her lungs, then laughed as she reached for Dean and kicked Cas' hands away as he went to pick her up from the changing table.

"Well, I see how it is. Daddy plus food is better than Papi." He kissed her on the nose as he passed her to Dean, where she immediately turned to hold her hand out back to him.

"Papi?" she beckoned.

"I'm coming, Baby." He held her hand the entire way to the kitchen listening as she and Dean chatted in a mix of Spanish, English, and sign language about what she wanted to eat. The moment took him back to the first time they had set eyes on their daughter. And what a day that was.

When they explored the process of adopting a child, they decided to keep things to themselves until they knew what their chances were going to be, since they were a same sex couple. Their coordinator had informed them that there was a better chance for them if they weren't set on adopting a newborn white child, and they told her that if that's what they had really wanted, they would have taken up their friend's offer to be their surrogate. They had determined to help a child in need, to find their child. 

It was about a year later, after grueling months of forms and interviews, that they told their families since they needed to be interviewed, as well. After all that, Cas and Dean never brought it up in conversation again and their families didn't ask since they were afraid that maybe they had been rejected. 

Their coordinator, Annie, had called them six months ago about a very young girl in an orphanage in Guatemala. They flew out a week later (after so many shots) and learned as much Spanish as they could during the six hour flight. The instant they saw her they were in love. She was about two years old and had long, brown hair with amber highlights, huge eyes and a smile that lit up the room as she played with the other children. The sight of her was a balm to Cas' soul. She was what had been missing from their family. When the worker waved her over to meet them, she came skipping, with no shyness about her at all. She walked right up to them (who were feeling ridiculous sitting in the kid sized chairs) and began communicating in Spanish and sign! He and Dean may not have known but a word or two of Spanish, but they were both fluent in ASL. Sam had married his high school sweetheart, Eileen, who had been deaf from birth. 

After spending a few hours with the tiny dynamo that was to be their daughter, playing, eating and following her all around as she introduced them to everyone , they finally had their second meeting with the headmistress, Naomi. She had been polite but decidedly chilly at their introduction, but had warmed up considerably since their initial encounter. Cas was sure that the deciding factor was Dean's controlled anger at her not disclosing the fact that the toddler was partially deaf. Obviously, it helped enormously that they could both sign and wanted her regardless of her hearing status.  

There were other hurdles, however. It wasn't a bad orphanage by any means, but it was just barely making ends meet. There had been an issue in the beginning with Naomi when he and Dean had tried to give them money. She had accused them of trying to purchase the child. It had taken the entire two weeks of their first visit to make her understand that they had love and money to spare. When she witnessed how hard they were working to learn their future daughter's language, her habits, her likes (and the many dislikes ), Naomi lost her attitude and became their biggest supporter at the orphanage, after their daughter of course. 

The final paperwork had been filed and processed through the Guatamalan courts just the week before, when they had flown in for the last time. They had been traveling down to spend time with the little girl every other week since they began the process of adopting her. 

FaceTime had been a godsend, too. Cas had cried every time they had to hang up (Dean did as well), but then they would begin laughing at all the silly things that she had told them as she colored, ate her dinner, or while she took them around the orphanage, letting all the other children say hello to her "Daddy and Papi." They were more than gratified to see all the improvements that Naomi was making with the extra money they had donated. Every time they visited or were treated to a tour via their computer screen, the children had new clothing, better school books and supplies, or improved bedding. They had decided that when they finally told their families about their daughter (and what a surprise party that was gonna be!), they were going to ask that their next Christmas and birthday presents be donations to the orphanage. 

Keeping their recent travels a secret was simply a matter of explaining that Dean was doing research on a newly discovered ocean worm, and Cas had gone along for the adventure. He could write anywhere and with the high-tech equipment on Dean's work ship, he could hook up with his dad to consult on whatever they were working on at the time. Luckily, they could afford to buy the best hot spot for when they were at the orphanage, so no one was the wiser. 

She had arrived around 3 a.m. that morning and what a day it had been! She loved her new home and her bedroom. The only thing that bothered him and Dean was that she had asked several times how long before she had to leave. It would take a while for her to realize that they would be together forever. 

Sitting down at the kitchen table with his little family Cas began nibbling on his orange, watching as Dean went through the picture book with her again. One of the first things they had given her on their first visit to the orphanage was a soft-page, picture book full of photos of her new family: her grandparents, John, Mary, Becky, and Chuck, her uncles, Bobby, Sam and Gabe, and her aunties, Ellen, Jo and Eileen. 

Cas remembered when they had first settled in Seattle for Dean's work in ocean biology after their wonderful, year-long, road trip after college. They had loved the area but missed their families so very much. Once Cas and Chuck sold their second book in the Brother's Against The World Series and he and Dean bought their home, they were surprised when the rest of the family decided that Seattle was the place for them, too. Their daughter was going to grow up in this brand new cul-de-sac that was full of family: every single house. Sam and Eileen came out first, closely followed by Gabe and Jo. Not a month later, Ellen and Bobby showed up with John, Mary, Becky and Chuck buying the last two homes shortly after. It was Heaven, most times.

Dean picked up their daughter as she was falling asleep at the table (jet lag was tough on a two and a half year old!) and let Cas kiss her cheek before he carried her off to the nursery. He locked up the house after he made sure that everything he needed to get done for the party tonight was done. He was as tired as the rest of his little family.

After he crawled into bed, he curled up with his head on his husband's chest, loving when Dean wrapped him in his arms. They laid there in the silence for a few minutes before glancing at each other. They burst into quiet giggles.

"She's finally fucking here, Cas." He could hear the wonder in Dean's voice.

"I know. Some days it seemed today would never get here." He pressed his face into Dean's chest, not wanting him to see the tears in his eyes.

"Hey, now. None of that, Honey." Cas tried to get away as Dean wiped his tears but there was no escape.

"Happy tears, Dean," he assured his husband.

"Yeah, I know. It's just...there've been so many tears throughout this whole thing. Just smiles for today, yeah?" Cas watched as Dean turned to look at the clock. "Happy Valentine's Day, my love." No better way to start the day celebrating love than to be in bed with his husband and their daughter in her room, home at last.

The next morning was filled with cartoons, laughter, cereal, a bubble bath, and too many diaper changes. Cas loved every minute of it and so did Dean. They had timed it perfectly (how they got so lucky was beyond them but they'd take the win) that their daughter went down for a nap about an hour before the luncheon. It gave them time to clean themselves up before they began to cook. 

"Hey, Cas? I tell ya' about how weird Sammy was on the phone yesterday?" Cas paused in setting the dining room table to walk back into the kitchen.

"No, what was he doing?" He pulled down some serving platters for the food once it was ready.

"He kept asking about the next trip we were taking. He was wanting to know if you were going or if maybe you wanted to stay home this time and hang out with the family. It was weird." Cas walked over to wrap his arms around Dean's waist, careful not to get in his way as he was flipping the chicken in the pans onthe stove.

"Hmm...I'm not sure, my Love. Gabriel was making noise about our trips last night on the phone. Let's not worry about it now. We're about to introduce our daughter to our family soon. I can't wait." He kissed the back of Dean's neck and as he walked away he pinched his ass and laughed at the way it made his husband squeak. 

He was arranging the balloons, again, when there was a knock on the front door. When he opened it to see their entire family standing there an hour early, he was surprised to say the least.

"Who was it...Cas?" He heard Dean walk up behind him but he didn't answer because his husband could see who it was, but Cas had no answer as to why they were early. He wasn't ready for them yet!

"What's going on here?" Dean demanded as he placed his hand on Cas' hip to ground him, because he knew Cas didn't like surprises.

"We wanted to come by early and talk to you boys." Mary answered in her calm mom voice.

"You were supposed to be here in an hour and you could have talked to us then. Why the surprise, Mom? Seriously? Cas, Honey. Come sit down." He hated that he sometimes froze in situations like this. It was better than it had been in years past but with his emotions all over the place, he wasn't surprised that Dean had to lead him to the couch. 

It only took a few minutes for Cas to feel like himself again. Dean had brought him a glass of orange juice and was giving their family grief for upsetting him. Cas' mom was sat next to him, held his hand. She kept apologizing over and over, so he leaned over to kiss her cheek, letting her know he was alright. When Dean caught sight of that he knelt in front of him and took his hands in his so he could kiss his knuckles.

"Are you alright, Honey?" he whispered into Cas' skin.

"Yes, Dean. Apparently, we have worried our families these last few months." He looked around at each and every one of them in the eye before continuing. "Which was not our intention and I truly think it's ridiculous that you believe there is something wrong with our marriage!" He huffed out a laugh.

"Dean, let's go show them what we've been up to." He let his husband help him up from the couch and led him from the living room. 

When they walked into the nursery, their daughter was laying in her crib playing with her feet, sweet, silly girl.

"Are you ready to meet the rest of our family, little one?" Cas asked her as he lifted her high in the air and kissed her pretty pink socks.

"Papi! Daddy!" He laughed as she made grabby hands at Dean while holding on for dear life by a fist full of his hair. 

"I'll take that as a yes, Honey." Dean kissed their daughter, gave a peck to Cas, then they made their way into the living room where every one of their family was looking at them with their jaws on the floor.

"May we present Willow Winchester, our daughter. The best Valentine's Day surprise you'll ever get."