Chapter Text
Dean made oatmeal, toast, coffee, and chamomile tea for his mate’s stomach. He carried everything back up to the bedroom, setting the tray he’d put everything on down on the dresser. Castiel was just getting out of the tub so he hurried to help him dry off and walk back to the bedroom.
“I need clothes.”
“No you don’t, you’ll just sweat through them and make more laundry for me. You can lounge naked. Besides, the last thing you need is layers that will bring your fever up again. You’re gorgeous, just lay back and enjoy this extravagant breakfast I’ve made you.” Dean helped Castiel into the bed and then went to fetch the tray.
“Extravagant, eh?” Castiel laughed as the kickstands were put down on the tray and it was set over his lap. “Pretty fancy, huh.”
Dean laughed as he returned to his side of the bed and picked up one of the bowls of oatmeal.
“Yeah, well, it’s good, eat up. I’ll save the fancy stuff for later. Your next heat, I’m going to make meals in advance and freeze them, and we’re going to get very familiar with your crock pot, more than we are already. There will always be food for you.”
“You’re so good to me. Before, I would just buy granola bars and gallons of water and in between…you know, I’d force myself up to take showers and eat maybe half a sandwich. I usually lose a few pounds every heat because I don’t eat enough. This is more than I could have made, feeling the way I do, so to me, yes, it’s extravagant. I have nausea pills in the bathroom cabinet. Zofran. I’ll need one of those before I can eat this.”
Dean jumped up and returned to the bathroom to get the pills. He brought the entire bottle back and passed it over. Castiel popped one in his mouth and sighed.
“They dissolve, so they work almost instantly,” he explained as he picked up his mug of tea.
“You feel better then?” Dean asked. Castiel smiled and nodded.
“For the moment.”
They ate breakfast and then Dean cleaned up and went to switch loads. When he returned, Castiel was asleep, curled up on his side and snoring softly. He took that as an opportunity to get the laundry finished and scrub down the bathroom, then he headed downstairs to figure out which dish he wanted to make for dinner. He rinsed out the crock pot and started the chicken for the chicken and dumplings. He’d just started chopping the apples he’d brought to make an apple crumble when he heard footsteps on the stairs. A moment later Castiel was walking into the kitchen, still fully naked.
“What are you doing?”
“Making dessert. It’s an apple crumble. I didn’t feel up to making pies.” Dean nodded towards the apples. “I just thought a dessert might be nice.”
“I think so too. I’m hungry again.”
Dean finished chopping the last bit of apple and headed to the fridge to start pulling everything out to make sandwiches. He wasn’t that hungry yet himself, but he’d make a nice, big one for his mate.
“So, I brought chicken, turkey, roast beef, pastrami, you tell me which one you want.”
“Can I have some of each one on my sandwich?” Castiel asked.
“Sure.” Dean went on to stack the sandwich high with meat, tomatoes, and lettuce, then passed it over to his mate, who promptly devoured it.
“I’m thirsty.” Castiel headed to the fridge himself and pulled out a container of iced tea while Dean got glasses down. His Omega poured them both a glass.
“How are you feeling?” Dean touched his mate’s forehead. The fever was climbing again. He went to fetch some ibuprofen and brought it back down.
“I’m tired, my abdomen hurts, but the ibuprofen will help. The thirst is kicking in pretty bad though.” Castiel poured himself a second glass and drank half of it down in one go. Dean watched him carefully. Since they’d woken up the scent of arousal had been steadily growing stronger on the Omega, but the Alpha was being patient and as calm as possible. He knew Castiel could smell it on him but so far, he wasn’t trying to jump Dean’s bones. He wasn’t sure if he ever would. Bela hadn’t, but then again, she’d been on suppressants the entire time. He’d been pretty enough to mate, but his income wasn’t enough to keep her happy. Hell, his income was barely enough to support himself in this economy, but he managed, and with some advice from his friend Aaron, he’d been investing for years. It was how he was able to do everything he did for Castiel.
His father had ingrained in him and his brother growing up that a good Alpha took care of their mate in every way possible, and he was trying hard to do that here and now with Castiel. When his Omega smiled at him, he smiled back.
“Do you want to go back to bed and rest some more?” he asked.
“No, I believe I’d like to have sex now. I-I think I’m ready to take a knot, though I won’t be ready to bond until later, when my heat is at its height.”
Dean gaped at him for a moment before his head began to bob in an eager nod.
“Yeah, ok, um, just give me a minute to clean all this up.”
He’d never stored food in the fridge so fast in his life, and he knew his mate was laughing, could hear him doing so, but he didn’t care. They were finally, finally going to have penetrative sex , and he couldn’t wait. Once everything was in the fridge and he had refilled Castiel’s tea, they made their way upstairs to the bedroom.
This time it was Dean who felt nervous. He waited for Castiel to put down his glass of tea and turn to face him.
“I thought Alphas were supposed to be lustful and uncontrollable around an Omega in heat,” he teased. Dean rolled his eyes and chuckled.
“Only the assholes are. I happen to respect people. Most of all, I respect you. I love you, Cas. I want to be the Alpha you need, and letting myself be mindlessly driven by lust is not what you need.”
Castiel closed the distance, wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s neck and kissed him. It wasn’t chaste in the slightest, and very quickly had them both grabbing and squeezing at one another as Dean herded them back towards the bed.
“Dean, I need you.” The Omega shoved him down in a burst of strength and straddled his Alpha. Dean was thankful for their foray into nakedness and having his sexy mate on top of him was incredibly hot. He was already well on his way to being hard; he hadn’t expected his mate to take control like this. It was exciting.
Castiel kissed him again, deeper this time. The scent of arousal permeated the air, thick and heavy. His fingers found their way into Dean’s hair, pulling tight as he ground down against him. The Alpha’s instincts kicked in and he flipped them so Castiel was laid out on the bed beneath him. He was gorgeous like that, and he took his time, kissing his way down his Omega’s body. When he reached the scar, the one thing Cas was most ashamed of, he pressed a gentle kiss to the line, the mark that spoke of the love his Omega had for his lost daughter. To him, it made his mate even more perfect, knowing he could love so deeply and completely. He knew Castiel loved him, that he was in love with him, and he felt privileged to be one of the people that he cared so deeply about. He loved Castiel with everything he had.
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Their first mating was…incredible, for both of them. Taking a knot turned out to incredibly pleasurable for Castiel and getting to knot his Omega was wonderful for Dean. He couldn’t wait to do it again, so they did. Over and over, for six straight days. By the end Dean could barely stand, his own rut being triggered by Castiel’s heat had surprised him, but it only lasted three days, and ended a day before his Omega’s heat ended. Getting to claim his mate had been the best moment of his life. There were no false pretenses. This was for life, and he knew Castiel wouldn’t leave him like Bela had done.
Castiel was adjusting to mated life better than Dean had expected. He was happy, loving being spoiled, but was learning how to lavish attention back on his Alpha. He insisted that Dean move into his house, and the first thing he did was hire a company to go pack all of his Alpha’s things up and bring them to his house. From there they spent the next few months unpacking and finding a way to make things they both owned fit. They both had to give stuff up, but in the end, Dean talked about the house he wanted to get again. Castiel looked into it and found that it was still available. So he bought it outright. Dean wasn’t exactly happy about that, but he understood that his Omega had the money to buy whatever he wanted. He tried not to be too bitter about it.
Castiel was sensitive, both to the world around him and to his mate’s moods. He knew he’d overstepped in just buying the house outright; he’d just been excited to start their lives together. It was a new beginning for them both, and he said as much to his mate. That placated the Alpha, who made a suggestion that shocked the Omega to his core. It came over dinner one evening, not long after they’d finished unpacking in the new house.
“Babe, I’ve been thinking.”
Castiel looked up from his plate, his gaze questioning.
“About?”
“That pup, Ella, the one that you were helping. She’s been released, right? I haven't seen her at the hospital,”
Castiel smiled as he thought about Ella. She was getting big, and making so much progress.
“She has. She’s doing so well.”
“I was thinking, what if…we adopted her?”
Castiel stared at his mate. Hard. He lowered his fork to his plate and tried to swallow against the lump in his throat.
“Adopt.”
“I mean, if you don’t want more kids, I’ll understand, but I know she’s one you’ve really connected with, and I’ve seen you with her. I, um, I went in to hold her a few times too, when I went to visit Sammy. She’s beautiful. I just thought, she needs a loving home, and we could protect her.” Dean poked at his potatoes, wondering if he had stepped out of line.
“I-I think…yes, I want that,” It came out as a whisper, and there were tears in the Omega’s eyes. “I want that very much.”
Dean got up from his seat and knelt down beside his mate’s chair. He wrapped Castiel up in his arms and held him as he let out all of his pain and grief, but also cried his tears of joy. This wasn’t replacing Sadie, this was giving a home to a pup like she’d been, and they both wanted to honor Sadie’s memory by opening their homes and their lives to a pup in need. Castiel wanted it more than he’d realized. The thought had crossed his mind over the years with several abandoned pups, but none had affected him the way little Ella did. He cried until there was nothing left, then he buried his face in Dean’s neck. He needed the comfort of his mate. After so many long years alone, he needed to let go, to lean on Dean.
“I want her. I want her so much.” He sniffled and sat back in his seat again.
“Then who do we need to talk to about her?” Dean asked.
“I’m not sure. First, I’ll contact my lawyer, let him handle it. He’ll take care of the paperwork. Child services took her three months ago but no one has shown any interest in adopting her yet. I’ve…been following up on her. I want to go see her in the morning. Will you meet me for lunch? We can see her together.” Castiel brushed the back of his hand gently down the side of his Alpha’s face.
“I have a break from 2:30 t0 3:30. I can meet you then, if you want to wait to see her. I’d like to be there for it,” Dean said.
“Yes, I can wait. I will see if Anna has time to meet me for breakfast instead.”
“She’s going to be happy for us.” Dean smiled at his mate, who smiled back.
“She will be. I can’t wait to hold Ella in my arms. It will be different this time. She’s not just a pup I’m helping anymore. She’s mine, or she will be. And yours. Our child. Ella Winchester has a beautiful ring to it.”
“It does. She’ll need a middle name of course.”
Castiel thought for a moment. “I gave her the name Ella. It’s only fitting that you provide her middle name.”
“There’s one name I’ve always liked for a girl. Never thought I’d get to have one. I think Sophia is a pretty middle name, don’t you?” Dean thought the two names went well together.
“Ella Sophia Winchester. I love it. I’ll do everything within my power to make her ours,” Castiel promised. There was a fierce determination in his eyes.
“I know you will. And since you bought the house, I want to cover whatever adoption fees are involved. We’ll make sure she can be ours before we go setting up a nursery, but once we know, I’ll buy anything you want for her.”
“I’m calling my lawyer right now.” Castiel grabbed his cell phone as Dean returned to his seat and as the Alpha listened, Castiel spoke with the lawyer, giving instructions he wanted completed as quickly as possible. When he hung up, he was smiling brightly.
“In the morning he’s calling child services, and they’ll call the foster parents. They don’t plan to adopt, they have six pups of their own. I check with them at least every week,” the Omega said.
“She’ll be ours.” Dean was confident of it. Castiel beamed at him.
“She will be.”