After Sam died, Dean took his baby brother's advice. He went to Lisa and Ben. When she opened that door, Dean could barely hold back the tears because when she smiled at him, completely unaffected by the earth shattering sense of loss that had gripped Dean's heart since he watch Sammy jump, he knew he was already gone for her and the guilt that came with that was unbelievable.

They spent the months after that piecing together a life they could share, but what surprised Dean the most was Ben. He'd already known that he loved Lisa, but that kid. Immediately after Dean moved in with them, even before he and Lisa where sharing a room, Ben accepted Dean's presence as if he'd been waiting on the man to come home. Really, it was home. He, Lisa, and Ben were a family and he was happy with that. Then, only ten months after Dean lost Sam, his world was crushed under fate's big toe, yet again.

He got the call at six fifteen on a Saturday. Lisa was running late coming home from the grocery store, and Dean was just getting anxious when his phone rang. It was the hospital. Lisa had been hit in a head on collision. Dean had grabbed Ben and rushed to the hospital.

The two of them had sat in the surgery waiting room for nearly six hours. Lisa's sister, Kim showed up about halfway through sitting in silent vigil with the small family. When the nurse came out in her bright pink scrubs, the surgical mask hanging down from her neck, Kim went to greet her while Dean pulled an eleven-year-old Ben (who'd been curled in the man's lap for hours), closer to him. The small-ish woman gave Kim a grim look and shook her head before talking in low tones, but she didn't have to explain anything. Dean already knew. Lisa was gone.

The days immediately following Lisa's death are still a blur to Dean. He remembers Ben, crawling in bed with him every single night. He remembers everyone telling him how sorry they were, and asking how he was handling it. He remembers having no response. He remembers that he didn't speak, not once, until Kim approached him, and asked if he thought maybe Ben would be better off living with her.

Dean found his voice, then, and he'd shouted himself hoarse. Kim had backed off and signed the papers. That's when Dean realized he hadn't been to work in nearly a month, and Ben's school attendance was less than stellar. Dean was drowning in his own grief, just like his dad had done, and Dean was not going to turn into his father, so, he packed them up and moved in with Bobby.

At first, it wasn't the most comfortable set up. Bobby and Ben got along great, but Dean wasn't exactly sure how much of the supernatural he wanted Ben to be aware of. Obviously, the boy had been clued in to some degree but putting that kind of burden on all of his kid's shoulder wasn't something Dean wanted to do. But, he couldn't exactly keep the kids out of the books in Bobby's library. They couldn't keep him in the dark and they had to tell him everything, but Dean told him point blank that he would not be hunting. Ever.

Then tension was high for a while, but they managed to get through with the agreement that Ben would graduate both high school and college before even considering pursuing hunting and they moved on.

Again, just when Dean's life was settling into some semblance of normal, everything was turned upside down, again. Two days after Ben's twelfth birthday, Castiel showed up at Singer's auto salvage half carrying, half dragging the limp form of a teenage boy with him. The kid was tall and skinny with shaggy brown hair and Dean had to stop the tears that were already forming in his eyes because this kid? He looked like Sammy. Of course, because they were Winchesters and nothing in their lives could ever be normal, it was Sammy. Dean did cry when Cas told. (Dean would later argue that they were very manly tears.)

Once Dean had finished every test within the human spectrum to ensure that this kid was in fact Sammy and not some kind of shifter demon thing, he turned on Cas demanding an explanation. When Sam jumped, Cas was able to extract the man's soul from his body before he fell into the pit. However, his body was lost and without a place for the soul to go, the only options were to allow the soul to wander after Dean and possibly become vengeful, or build him a new body. Cas chose option B.

It was a long and challenging process made more difficult by the raging war in Heaven. Raphael had assembled an army both willing and able to fight for him, but Castiel had numbers on his side and as they fought, Castiel began rebuilding Sam. Sam's body grew much like an embryo wrapped in the protection of Heaven. However, merging both body and soul was a difficult process that Castiel could not do at once. As the body grew, the soul merged with it regenerating the memories of Sam's life. However, before the regrowth could be complete, Raphael fled heaven and left Cas almost completely powerless. He was able to merge Sam's soul completely, but the body was left somewhere around fourteen. Sam remembered his life, but much of it was still blurry.

The boy healed up, and his mind seemed to stay intact. Cas and Sam moved in with Bobby, Dean, and Ben. They enrolled Sam in school and Cas was able to work his lingering mojo into clearing up a few things with Dean and Sam, and making things legal. He wasn't able to erase the world's memories of the mass-murderers Sam and Dean Winchester, but he did alter the perceived image of them, and he was able to create new identities for himself, Dean and Sam. He gave himself a degree in theology and began giving an occasional guest lecture at the local community colleges, but most of the time, he stayed home with Sam and Ben.

So, Dean, as the sole breadwinner of the family (He'd opened his own garage on the other side of town), found himself away from home more and more often. He and Cas became a team, planning their meals, activities, bills, house repairs, and all the little details of day to day life. Then, more and more, Dean found himself enjoying his time with Cas, until he had an epiphany. Those moments, sitting up late bullshitting and drinking way too much coffee until Cas shoved a cup of hot tea in his hands and ordered him to bed, was the part of his day he looked forward to the most. Those stolen moments alone with Cas were the best parts of his day right up there with making dinner with Sammy and watching both of his kids playing video games in their room together.

Dean didn't fall in love with Cas the same way he fell in love with Lisa. It was slow and steady. He didn't just want to spend time with the other man. He couldn't imagine his life away from him. Finally, after months, Dean told Cas how he felt and Cas shocked everyone. He leaned in close to the other man and Dean felt his breath catch in his throat, because Dean could smell the peppermint toothpaste on Cas' breath before Cas closed the distance between them and brushed his lips against Dean's in a slow warm kiss. "It's about damn time you admitted it." He murmured in a rather impressive impression of Dean.

Ben happened to walk in at that moment and decided that if he got two dads they needed their own monikers (Sam's word not his) and declared Dean as 'Dad' and Cas as 'Pop'. The names stuck pretty quickly.

Shortly after that, Dean, Cas, Sam and Ben moved into their own place closer to town, and Bobby became the eccentric grandfather to their strange little family.

Six months, almost to the day, after the wedding, Dean and Cas were babysitting for some friends of Bobby's. (Their house was much more childproof.) Jake and Katie were siblings. Jake was only a year old and Katie only five. This was not the first the couple had found themselves babysitting for other hunters. They didn't approve of raising your kids in the life but they couldn't turn down being a safe haven for them. Unfortunately, their worst fears came true when the children's parents were killed by the poltergeist they were hunting. Dean took care of the spirit and Dean and Cas adopted the kids.

Cas was a mostly stay-at-home dad until Jake started pre-school, and he discovered a love for reading constantly immersing himself in a world of humanity and the like and loving every second of it. He got a 'second' degree in literature and began teaching that instead. (He got less strange looks for his views on the symbolism of ancient literature than his 'beliefs' about ancient deities.)

Dean ran his garage and gained several friends in his employees. He and two of the men under him went out for beers every other Tuesday, and he became especially close to one such employee.

Charlie was a good man. He'd run his own garage for nearly forty years before retiring with his wife, Martha. After her death, he wanted back in the business and Dean gave him the job on the spot. The old man was kind and took to Dean's kids and even Bobby quickly. It was like having a grandfather for the first time in his life, and Dean didn't mind adding to his own ragtag family.

Sammy was reliving high school including but not limited to honor roll, soccer, and a best friend named Tammy. He was unabashedly proud of his role in the school play and even tried band for one semester. (The trumpet was just not his thing but there was a cute saxophonist in the second row that he paid more attention to than the band director.)

Ben played football on the JV team and had all the girls fawning over him by the end of his first year there. He got in more trouble than he knew how to get out of but at least he got it honestly. Dean wondered how the boy wasn't his but then he remembered a certain bendy brunette with her own love of rock music and a glint of mischief in her eyes, and he'd smile sadly at his boy.

Katie was a bright little girl who loved to read, just like her poppa. Of course that could have something to do with the fact that she had been read to every night since first meeting Castiel. She bonded with Sam especially after she started school. They shared a love of school.

Jake was the youngest and he loved every second of it. He idolized his big brothers and his Daddy and Poppa were just about the best thing ever. Katie was the prettiest and smartest big sister a boy could ask for and you couldn't have found a happier five year old alive.

Domestic Life suited the Winchesters well, very well…

Until something came in and screwed it all up