Chapter Text
Sam rode beside Cas on their way out to Haven. Ahead of them rode Prince John, Dean’s son, eight years old and finally allowed to ride his own pony for the trip instead of being in the carriage with the younger kids or riding with his father or mother. “You know, Dean says I looked like that when I got to ride alone for the first time,” Sam told Cas. “I can’t believe it. I have never been that graceful on a horse.”
“You know, soon it’ll be Katie out on her own,” Cas teased. Katie was Sam’s older daughter, only a year younger than John. “You won’t be so amused then, will you.”
“Katie’s gonna stay a little girl forever,” Sam said. “She promised.”
“And Ruby promised Meg was like her, that she would be grateful to get out of Gehenna,” Castiel said. Ruby had been trying to talk Sam into getting Dean to grant her cousin asylum after she ran afoul of Crowley. Dean didn’t want to risk making Crowley upset. For the first time in several generations, Kansas and Gehenna were, if not at peace, at an armed standstill at least. Relations with Eden weren’t as good as usual, partly because of Gehenna, partly because of Haven, but mostly because Michael was furious that Dean had married Anna without asking his permission. If it weren’t for Gabriel, Kansas and Eden might well be at war.
Of course, when Sam proved reluctant, Ruby took matters into her own hands. She used some of her old contacts to smuggle Meg to Haven, where Rachel had introduced her to Castiel. Cas and Meg had several spirited debates, which usually ended with Sam hauling his Companion off to bed or Ruby throwing Meg into the basement, but when it came time for Sam and his family to leave, he somehow found Meg with them.
Not long after, Sam cornered Castiel. “Come on. Let’s do this.”
“Do what?” Castiel asked, setting down his book and looking at Sam in complete bewilderment.
“Do the bit where you tell me you’re grateful for everything that I’ve done for you and that you’ll always love me, but Dean’s made you a count, and you’ve been stalling but you need to find a countess to establish succession and you’ve found someone you wouldn’t mind marrying,” Sam said.
“Oh.” Castiel looked down at the floor. “Sam, I do love you, and I always will. If you say no, then this will be the last you hear of it, and I won’t hold it against you or resent you for it. But if you would agree to it… I have become rather fond of her. I enjoy our fights. And, as you said, I do have a succession of my own to think about.”
“What will you do if I say no?” Sam asked. “About the succession, I mean, you already told me what you’d do about me and Meg.”
“Designate Genevieve as my heir.” Genevieve was Sam’s younger daughter. “Unless you and Ruby have a son that displaces Katie as yours, or Gen develops powers and becomes a more fitting heir for the Prince of Haven.”
“Well, Gen will be disappointed, so let’s not tell her that,” Sam said. “Cas, of course you can marry Meg. On one condition.”
“What’s the condition?” Castiel asked.
“She doesn’t get to take you away from me. You’re still my companion.” Sam pulled Cas into a hug. “Think she’ll go for it?”
Castiel leaned in, smiling. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but Dean’s granted her conditional asylum. He knew that I was trying to figure out how to ask you for permission, and he said that if I married her, she can stay here. Otherwise, he’s sending her back to Gehenna. I think she’d agree to just about any condition, and that one’s not even bad.”
Meg had, in fact, agreed, and the next year, she and Cas had twin daughters of their own: Nicole and Rachel. Dean had gravely informed Anna that her second child really needed to be a boy, because there were entirely too many girls running around the royal palace. But when Anna had delivered Gabrielle, Dean denied it. He insisted that he had a perfectly good son already, and what he’d wanted all along was a daughter that he could spoil rotten. And look at her, she was perfect!
Rachel – Big Rachel, Sam’s steward of Haven – was on the road to meet them. “Welcome to Haven, my king, you and your family. My lord.” Rachel bowed to Sam. “It’s always good to have you home, my lord.”
Sam looked around at the town. It had nearly tripled in size since the move, as Edenite and Gehennan refugees came, and many Kansans with powers came to be among others like them. “It’s good to be home, Rachel.”