West Coast

Jack

Cas sat tiredly down at the dining room table, a half finished painting balanced on his easel. His studio had more space for him to work, but he was never quite as comfortable as he was at the window. Little Gabe snoozed on the carpet in a patch of sunlight, with Grace under the table. Fries played outside in the garden, running around in the grass, while Hoagie watched her from a distance.

Cas rested his head in his hands. He and Dean had submitted their paperwork, gathering all their family records, medical records, letters of recommendation from Sam and Jody, and yet more letters from each of their therapists and doctors. Now all they could do was wait and hope. It had already been weeks. Cas was getting progressively more anxious, and Dean tried to offset it by being extremely upbeat and optimistic, but it didn't help much.

Dean had called him earlier and told him he was going to pick up some takeout on his way home. His tone was light, but something about it was off, so Cas had lost concentration on his painting.

After what felt like an eternity, Dean finally came into the house, carrying bags with him, which he dumped on the table. He pulled a chair up beside Cas, and the look on his face made Cas freeze in his seat.

'So I've got some bad news,' Dean said quietly, taking Cas's hand. 'The agency called me today. They're not going to approve us for a baby.'

Cas nodded, pressing his lips together. 'Okay,' he whispered. 'That's - that's what we thought.' Cas let his head fall into Dean's shoulder.

'It's okay,' Dean murmured, rubbing Cas's back. 'But listen, it doesn't have to be the end.' He lifted Cas's head up.

'What do you mean?'

'They're willing to review our application again, for an older kid.'

Cas looked up at Dean's face. He could see the disappointment, but the same spark of hope still shone in his eyes.

'What do you think?' Dean prompted.

'I think - I think that might be good. There are lots of children out there that need a home. We could do that, right?'

Dean nodded with a small smile. 'You bet we could. But we're not going to give them an answer right away.'

'We're not?'

'No. You're tired, I'm tired. We're going to take a nice vacation and think it over, okay?'

Cas kissed him softly. 'Where were you thinking?'

'How about Yellowstone? Great place for camping.'

'That sounds nice.'

'Great, now let's eat before this all gets cold.' Dean began unwrapping their food, and Cas whistled the dogs inside, scaring Little Gabe awake in the process.

'Are we still having Mary over for the weekend?' Cas asked.

'Yeah, we're taking her down to the beach, I think.'

Cas nodded and quickly wrote it on his whiteboard before they ate.

He decided to put their worries out of his mind, at least for now, and let himself get excited for their trip to Yellowstone. He'd seen in their albums that they had been before, but that was one of the things he still couldn't remember. In any case, Dean seemed determined to take him to every place he could think of, whether or not they'd been before.

Dean bought them a brand new tent, large enough for the two of them, all their camping equipment, and both dogs. He found them a secluded spot and showed Cas how to pitch a tent. They spent most of the vacation in the tent, enjoying each other's company, and allowing themselves to unwind. They went on several hikes where Cas took endless pictures of things he wanted to paint, although they ended up having to carry Hoagie much of the way.