to build a home

full time friend

Dean tries hard not to be a clingy boyfriend. He and Cas still end up calling every night. Not able to tell him about Ellen, Dean vents by writing music and crying himself to sleep and trying really hard not to punch a wall.

He puts in enough money for Ellen's surgery—his paycheck from Balthazar left him speechless, anyway, and he didn't have any idea about what to do with all that cash. When she's ready—or he's ready—or something of the two, Ellen tells Sam, and he takes it surprisingly well. Sam's stronger than any of them give him credit for.

Jo goes through weird periods of being nonverbal, though. It's hard to get her to talk about emotional crap at the best of times, and this is probably the most emotionally turbulent thing that can happen to a person. Ellen's due to start treatment at the end of January, when Dean is gonna be back from a long vacation visiting Cas in the UK.

It's a big year for Cas—he ends up winning some poetry prize for newcomers and small publishers, and so is coming back to the states a little early to accept it. As soon as Cas told him he said, very firmly, no surprise parties down the phone just as Dean was thinking what would be the best way to get Gabriel to jump out at them as Cas opened the front door after arriving back from the airport. Gabriel would be up for all sorts, he might even jump off the roof if he knew it would give Cas a big enough fright, even though he's in the fifth decade of his life.

So, with surprise parties firmly off the table, Dean settled for paying Ellen to close The Roadhouse for a night, and hosting something there. And, telling Gabriel about it, the guy is now insisting they get a party together to welcome Cas back home, too.

"Dean!" Gabriel exclaims from the other end of the phone call. "Come on! I think it'd be the cutest idea—come on, can you think of anything Cas would like better?"

"Uh," Dean frowns, "most things, actually. Maybe even getting a taxi home form the airport, by himself."

"Well, that taxi ride would be dumb, what a waste of money—"

"—And you all driving—and in your case, flying over here—just to welcome Cas back, that'd be a wise financial move, would it?"

"Well, if we're making it to this congratulations party, as well—"

"That party's scheduled for a week later."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"It's not."

"Gabriel," Dean leans forward from where he sits, at the kitchen table, "I organised this. It is."

"And I called Ellen and told her to move it to the day Cas arrives back."

"You what?!"

"It's more of a celebration, that way!"

"No, it's not!" Dean exclaims. "It's more of a disaster, that way! Cas is gonna be jetlagged as hell, he'll barely be conscious—"

"That's so funny—I plan on getting so drunk I'll barely be conscious—"

"Gabriel—"

"And I've paid Ellen to make it an open bar."

"That's not gonna persuade me not to change it back—"

"Yeah, but I've already sent out all the invites, telling everyone."

"You've sent out the invites?"

"And really," Gabriel starts in a smug and knowing tone, "are you gonna be the one to ask Ellen to change the date around again?" Dean groans. "She does not seem like the kind of woman you wanna mess around."