Stay (the sequel to "Forget Me Not")

Chapter 3: Half a family

After a quick shower, getting dressed and downing two painkillers, Cas felt a little better. He offhandedly tried to dry his hair with a towel as he walked around the house, willing himself to remember if anything else needed to be done. But everything seemed finished. He placed a record on his old turntable and opened the windows to let the soft music flood out to their guests on the front lawn.

"When your body's had enough of me and I'm lying flat out on the floor... When you think I've loved you all I can, I'm gonna love you a little bit more..."

The kitchen looked decent once again; Dean had even taken out the food to the table and started the grill. Bobby and Sam sat on two chairs next to him and seemed utterly consumed by their conversation. Ellen leaned on the table, talking to Jessica who just put down her and Sam's daughter Abigail, letting her play with Grace on a blanket in the grass. The sun threw a warm layer of light over all of them. It was the perfect picture of a happy family. Cas hesitated for a while on the porch, watching them. He couldn't recall having moments like this with his family.

"Yeah, but that new so-called rifle of Rufus's is no match" he heard Bobby say in all seriousness, with equal parts annoyance and amusement in his rugged voice. "It's practically a toy gun. What's he gonna do? Go up to a moose, aim and say 'BAM', hoping he'll scare it to death?"

The two Winchester brothers laughed and Ellen rolled her eyes at her husband.

"You know it all comes down to how you use the thing, right?" she said impliedly with a sly smile.

Bobby did that facial expression of his where he clenched his jaw and his whole face sunk in on itself in defeat. A typical old-man look.

"That's what men with small guns say!"

"Well, maybe if you actually got your big behind off the couch and out in the woods once in a while, you'd know what to do with yours" she replied calmly, sipping a glass of something.

Not even Jessica could keep herself from laughing now.

Cas smiled a little to himself. Ellen and Bobby's bickering was always a great source of amusement to all of them, and so full of love at the same time. Not at all like his and Dean's dispute in the kitchen half an hour ago. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even recall what they had been arguing about.

"What you doin', Cas?"

His eyes met Dean's shimering green orbs across the lawn. The man was waving him over from behind the steamy grill. Everyone was looking at him now.

"C'mere!"

Obediently he moved his legs forward until he reached the group, coming to a halt by the grill. Everyone had resumed their conversations with one another. As he flipped a steak, Dean shifted his weight to his right leg and leaned slightly closer to Cas, almost imperceptibly, touching the back of his hand. I'm here for you. I've got your back.

"I'm sorry" he whispered by Dean's neck.

"No, I'm sorry, Cas. Forget 'bout it."

But he felt like crying. He felt tired.

"So, Cas. Twenty-nine. How does it feel?" Ellen asked.

Cas moved around and sat down by the table, opposite of the older woman. He tried to relax, taking a deep breath.

"Oh no, Ellen, don't you dare. I'm twenty-eight for another two weeks."

"Glad you could all come today" Dean interjected, talking to everyone. He took a gulp of his beer, turning a few spare ribs over on the grill grate, simultaneously.