Chapter Text
Castiel rocked Celia in his arms when the fissure lit up. In his sorrow, he had forgotten all about it. But now, he couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Power radiated from it and he pressed his daughter against his chest, shielding her with his wings. Still, Celia grew uneasy and her power tried to reach out, amplifying the fissure’s power. Castiel felt the moment it split their reality, their universe, and opened a rift.
Holding his daughter tightly, he scrambled to his feet, materialising his angel blade to face the imminent threat. Yet, Celia’s Grace vibrated in anticipation. She seemed excited and tried to spread her glee.
Her mood affected Castiel and deep inside his Grace, a spark of hope started to glow. He stared at the vibrating rift, ready to attack, even though his conviction to fight dwindled. His blade clattered to the floor as his Grace hummed in expectation.
His tears dried and stopped falling while his grief seemed like nothing but a bad memory when the rift fully opened, allowing someone to step through.
Castiel stopped breathing altogether. His heart raced. Sweat covered his skin and his feathers tingled, and then, he saw him.
He nearly dropped Celia when Dean appeared in front of him. Alive and well as it seemed, carrying a baby himself. New tears — tears of happiness this time — filled Castiel’s eyes as he fell into Dean’s arms, careful not to harm either girl.
“Hey, angel,” Dean said before kissing him as if nothing had happened.
Still, Castiel sensed Dean’s relief as their lips met. “I thought I’d lost you,” he admitted, and Dean shuddered.
“It was my lucky day,” Dean quipped. “This little cosmic jailbird here helped me to come back.”
“Dean?” Castiel pulled back to look at his human. “What have you done?”
“Me? Yeah, alright. Blame me for getting the Mark of Cain in the first place, but it seems our daughter — Celia, I mean — broke the seal to some ancient prison and released its inmate.”
Castiel stared at the sleeping baby in Dean’s arms. “And you brought them here?”
“Yep. Isn’t she beautiful?” Dean smiled and kissed the baby’s head, only to lean over and greet their daughter in the same manner. “Hey, sparkles. Missed you.”
“Sparkles?” Castiel frowned, but chuckled.
“Spark, sparkles — Why not?” Dean shrugged as a broad grin spread across his face. “I don’t think kiddo will work with the two of them.”
“Two? You mean—” Castiel stared at his human, trying to understand.
Dean’s eyes twinkled with joy. Slowly, he turned the sleeping baby in his arms. His fingers brushed through the dark hair as he said, “Meet Amara, our other daughter.”
“Our daughter?” Castiel couldn’t believe his ears, but the moment he said the words, a feeling of familiarity grasped him.
“You think I’m carrying her for fun? Granted, it took me a while to get behind it myself. Kind of a shock, you know?” Dean laughed. “But then she called me dad, and, yeah, I was sold. Ain’t she beautiful?” Love radiated from his eyes. “She’s definitely mine. And with Celia and you affecting her hugely as well, she's ours.”
“But how?” Castiel asked, even though he could feel the truth of Dean’s words through their bond. Like Celia, Amara reached out to him, touching his Grace and greeting him.
Castiel let it happen. He welcomed her, amazed by the familiarity. There was no doubt, especially when Celia reacted to her as well. Her Grace embraced her sister’s aura and happiness flooded through their bond.
Dean smiled. He must feel it as well. “She was with me the whole time. With us.” He tickled Celia’s back. “Can you take her for a moment? Gonna show you something.”
Frowning, Castiel nodded. As Dean placed Amara in his free arm, she snuggled against his chest, mirroring her sister. Castiel’s Grace vibrated in acknowledgement and even before Dean lifted his sleeve, he knew.
“She’s… the Mark?” Castiel couldn’t believe it.
“Nah.” Dean shook his head, chuckling with a levity Castiel hadn’t heard from him in a long time. “The Mark was the seal that kept her away.”
“And you trust her?” Castiel asked, perplexed, although he already knew the answer.
“Yeah, I do.” Dean’s voice didn’t waver. His eyes twinkled and he smiled. “Can’t you feel it? The Mark was fucking twisted, I get it, but don’t you see? As fucked-up as it was — as I was — I never harmed anyone who didn’t deserve it. We made her understand. Our love freed her.”
Dean’s smile widened, and the love he radiated resonated through their daughters. Both girls enhanced the feeling when it reached Castiel.
“Does it matter that we have two daughters instead of one? I know each of them is able to destroy the world and all that. They can change the course of the entire universe, but so what? One or two — what’s the difference? They’re ours, Cas. They’re family.”
Overwhelmed, Castiel watched his daughters. They had already found each other, their fingers hooked together. New waves of love rushed through him at the sight of the sleeping girls, reaching every part of his being. Smiling, he looked at Dean as tears ran over his face. “I love you, human.”
Dean grinned happily when he leaned his forehead against Castiel’s. “I know, angel. I know.”
*****
The world started to revolve and Dean swayed. The exhaustion of the birth must finally catch up with him. Staggering back, his legs stumbled upon their bed and relieved, he sank down.
Cas looked alarmed. For a moment, panic crossed his face. He seemed helpless with the two babies in his arms. Nodding, his angel took a deep breath and placed each of the girls carefully on the pillows before kneeling in front of Dean. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Dean smiled. “Just a little bit tired. Never thought I’d end up reenacting the finale of Raiders.”
Cas’ blank stare made him laugh out loud.
“It’s not every day you explode, angel,” Dean explained.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Cas whispered. Tears welled up in his eyes and grief clouded his voice.
Dean swallowed. “Fuck! I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
But Cas shook his head. “You’re back,” he rasped as his fingers ran through Dean’s hair before his angel gave him the gentlest of kisses. Steering him on the bed, Cas managed to make them both comfortable. Carefully, he placed Celia in Dean’s arms and kept Amara for himself.
Dean couldn’t describe the happiness of holding her. Tears streamed down his face. She greeted him with such joy. It shattered his entire being, but completed him in a way he had never experienced before.
Cradling her, he kissed her little head, before leaning over to Amara. They both were a part of him, part of them, because they were nothing without Cas. Cas completed them. Dean could still feel his Grace flowing through his system and wondered if it would ever stop. Not that he wanted it to stop.
Once, it might have freaked him out, but after last night, after today, he never wanted to miss it. As if Cas knew what he was thinking, his angel pressed his lips against Dean’s temple.
Dean’s head sank against Cas’ shoulder and smiling, he closed his eyes when the door opened.
Dean blinked at Charlie who stood there, gaping at them. His brother entered next before Claire stepped into the room. Three pairs of eyes widened in shock.
“Hey,” Dean greeted them as Cas placed another kiss on his temple. “I’m back.”
“Two babies?” Claire asked, recovering the fastest.
Dean chuckled. “Surprise!”
“You got twins? How?” Sam stared at them, dumbfounded. “There only was Celia yesterday when we— when you—”
“It’s a long story,” Dean said and yawned, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Oh my god,” Charlie cried out. “They’re babies, and we haven’t bought anything. After everything you told me about Nephilim, I had no idea Celia would stay a newborn. And now there’s two of them. You’ll need diapers, and formula… Hell, we need everything.”
“Technically, Amara isn’t nephil,” Cas deadpanned.
“Then what is she?” Sam asked. “Hell, who is she? How—”
“She’s our daughter,” Cas stated matter-of-factly, stopping Sam’s incoming gush of words effectively.
Dean felt as if his heart might burst as he heard Cas calling her that.
“And she’s as special as her sister,” Cas continued. “She’s been with Dean, with us, for a long time.” He smiled. Brushing his finger over Dean’s arm, he stopped at the place where the Mark had been for almost a year.
“Wait, where’s the Mark?” Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t tell me—”
“It’s a long story, Sam,” Cas interrupted him once again. “We’ll tell you everything, but not now. Can’t you see Dean is barely keeping up? It’s been a lot. We’re all exhausted.”
“Alright,” Charlie said, taking action in her hands and shuffling Sam and Claire to the door. “You two are coming with me. There’ll be another time for answers. Let the daddies sleep for a while. We’ve got other things to do. We’re going shopping.”
“Thanks, Charlie,” Dean mumbled and closed his eyes.
“And you—” Charlie added, “you two are taking care of them. You get that? Because your dads are idiots that need all the protection they can get. I understand you have the power to do that, so fucking use it.”
“Charlie,” Sam chided her, “words.”
“What?” she threw back and chuckled. “That train left a long time ago. Do you really think Dean hasn’t screwed them up for life? We know he has talked at least with Celia. And if Amara was around as well, I doubt there’s any hope left for either of them.”
Dean opened one eye to glare at them. “I fucking heard that.”
Sam fondly rolled his eyes before focusing on him. “You good?”
“Yeah, Sammy, I’m good.” Dean smiled. “Really.”
His brother nodded. “You scared us. We thought—” Sam’s voice broke and he swallowed, taking a deep breath. “Damn, it’s good to have you back.”
“There, there, uncle Sam. Let’s give your brother some alone time with his family. Can’t you see? He’s already falling asleep,” Claire said and pushed Sam through the door before turning around. “Congrats, Old Man. I hadn’t thought you had it in you. They’re beautiful.”
“Thanks, Miley. Prepare yourself for some babysitting action in the future.”
“Dream on, Hasselhoff,” she shot back, flipping him the bird. But the smile on her face told a different story.
“Claire?” Charlie called from outside.
“I’m coming,” Claire answered.
As she left, Dean closed his eyes and sighed. Charlie was right. Every kid would have been a challenge, but two newborns with heavenly powers?
They were in for a ride. Yet, with Cas by his side, and Sam and the girls having their backs, for the first time in years, Dean was looking forward to their future.
Still smiling, he bathed in the feeling of family as Grace embraced him, holding him tightly. Celia’s spark still glowed inside him, while Amara had left her mark on his soul, bright and powerful. Above all, Cas’ Grace flowed through him, reassuring him that everything would be okay.
And it was. Better than okay.
Their future was bright.